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Book . S^L 

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COFrt^IGHT DEPOSIT. 




JOHANN HiNRICH WiCHERN. 



THE 

INNER MISSION 



A HANDBOOK FOR 
CHRISTIAN WORKERS 



BY THE 

REV. J. F. OHL, MUS. D. 
n 

Superintendent of the Philadelphia City Mission of the Evangelical 
Lutheran Chureh 




PHILADELPHIA 

GENERAL COUNCIL PUBLICATION HOUSE 
1522 Arch Street 

IQII 



t) 



,^^ 



V 



0^ 



Copyright, 1911, by the 

Board of Publication of the General Council of the 

Evangelical Lutheran Church in 

North America 



All rights reserved 




i 



©CLA'^bOcSlO 



PREFACE 



^ During the last decade the term "Inner Mission" has 

obtained wide currency in the Lutheran Church of Amer- 
ica. It is the purpose of this volume, which has been pre- 
pared at the request of the Inner Mission Committee of the 
General Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in 
North America, to help those whose interest has been 
awakened to a better understanding of said term, and to 
place at their command information concerning forms and 
methods of Inner Mission work. Much of what the author 
has previously written and published on the subject is here, 
for the first time, issued in a permanent form. 

Any one acquainted with German Inner Mission literature 
will at once discover for how much of his material the author 
is indebted to the writings of Schafer, Wurster, Hennig, 
Uhlhorn, and others; yet while making the freest use of these 
he has endeavored to keep in view American conditions and 
needs. 

To designate a movement rather than a multitude of sep- 
arate activities, and in accordance with the general usage, 
the appellation " Inner Mission " rather than " Inner Mis- 
sions " is used throughout the book. 

Philadelphia, 

Epiphany, 191 i. 



CONTENTS 



INTRODUCTION 

rAGB 

General Statement ii 

The Term "Innere Mission" 12 

Wichern's Definition of Inner Mission 13 

The New Testament Basis of Inner Mission 22 

PART FIRST 
I. PRELIMINARY HISTORY OF THE INNER MISSION 

A. In the Early Church 33 

First Three Centuries 33 

A. D. 300 to 600 41 

B. In the Mediaeval Church 44 

A. D. 600 to 1500 44 

C. In the Reformation Era and Beyond 47 

II. THE INNER MISSION IN ITS MODERN FORM 

A. Its Immediate Antecedents 54 

Urlsperger, Spittler, Kiessling, Pestalozzi, C. H. Zeller, 
Oberlin, Falk, von der Recke-Volmarstein, von Kottwitz, 
and Amalie Sieveking in Germany; John Howard and Eliza- 
beth Fry in England; Thomas Chalmers and David Nasmith 
in Scotland; Hauge in Norway. 

B. Its Systematic Development 64 

Wichern, Fliedner, Lohe, Mez, Kobelt, von Bodelschwingh, 
Stocker, Uhlhom, Schafer, and others in Germany; Knudsen 
in Norway; Guthrie in Scotland; Barnardo in England; Passa- 
vant and W. A. Muhlenberg in America. 

3 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Its Organs 85 

1. The Diaconate 86 

a. The Modern Male Diaconate 91 

b. The Modern Female Diaconate 93 

2. Associations 99 

3. Institutions 102 

4. Ofl&cial Representatives 103 

5. Volunteer Helpers 104 

6. Material Support 105 



PART SECOND 
FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 

I. The Propagation of the Gospel 108 

a. Evangelization. 108 

b. City Missions 116 

c. The Dissemination of the Scriptures 125 

d. The Circulation of Christian Literature 127 

e. People's Libraries 1 29 

f. Music and Art 131 

11. The Care and Training of Children 133 

a. Day Nurseries 134 

b. Little Children's Schools 136 

c. Simday Schools* 139 

d. Shelters and Industrial Schools for Poor Children 143 

e. The Care and Training of Dependent Children 144 

HI. The Training and Preservation of Young People 150 

a. Schools for the Training of Domestics 150 

b. Shelters for Domestics 152 

c. Young Men's Societies 153 

d. Young Women's Societies 155 



CONTENTS 5 

PAGB 

IV. The Protection of the Imperiled 156 

a. Diaspora Missions 156 

b. Emigrant Missions 157 

c. Seamen's Missions 158 

d. Christian Inns fcK- Men 161 

e. Hospices 163 

f. Some Other Forms of Protective Work 164 



V. The Saving of the Lost 167 

a. Rescue Homes for the Young 167 

b. Warfare Against Immorality: Magdalen Homes 171 

c. Warfare Against Intemperance: Asylimis for Inebriates 177 

d. Care of Convicts and Discharged Prisoners 183 



VI. The Care of the Sick and the Defective 192 

a. Hospital Care of the Sick 192 

b. Institutions for Physical and Mental Defectives 194 

1. Deaf-mutes 195 

2. The Blind ; 195 

3. The Crippled 196 

4. The Epileptic 197 

5. The Idiotic and Insane 199 

6. The Enfeebled and Convalescent 202 

7. InvaUd Children 203 

c. Homes for the Aged and Infirm 203 

VII. The Conflict with Social Ills 204 

a. The Relief of Parish Needs 207 

b. The Care of the Poor 211 

c. Labor Colonies and Rehef Stations 216 

d. The Relief of Needs Occasioned by War and Pestilence 221 



6 CONTENTS 

PAGB 

e. Miscellaneous 222 

1. Evangelical Workingmen's Societies 222 

2. Efforts for the Improvement of Housing Conditions .... 222 

3. The Promotion of Sxmday Rest and Observance 223 

4. The Encouragement of Thrift 223 

f. Settlements 224 

Conclusion • 228 



APPENDIX A 

I. Statistics of the Deaconess Motherhouses Comprised in the 

Kaiserswerth Union 231 

II, Fields of Deaconess Labor 235 

III. German DiakonenHduser 236 



APPENDIX B 

LUTHERAN INNER MISSION INSTITUTIONS IN THE 
UNITED STATES 

I. Deaconess Motherhouses 237 

II. Orphans' Homes 238 

III. Home Finding Societies 239 

IV. Old People's Homes 239 

V. Hospitals 240 

VI. Institutions for Defectives 241 

VII. Immigrant and Seamen's Missions 242 

VIIL Hospices 242 

IX. Miscellaneous 242 

X. Inner Mission Societies and City Missions 243 

Bibliography 244 

Index 247 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



PAGE 



WiCHERN Frontispiece 

Kaiserswerth Institutions 71 

FlIEDNER — LOHE — VON BODELSCHWINGH — KOBELT — StOCKER — ,_^ 

UhLHORN — SCHAPER 7^ 

Passavant 84 

Rauhes Haus at Hamburg 91 

Francke Orphanage at Halle 91 

Mary J. Drexel Home, PmLADELPHiA, Pa 94 

Institutions at Milwaukee, Wis 98 

Deaconess Motherhouse, Baltimore, Md 103 

Deaconess Hospital at Jerusalem 106 

Swedish Institutions at St. Paul, Minn 106 

Berlin City Mission (Church) 116 

Berlin City Mission (Hospice, Buildings) 121 

Wartburg Orphans' Farm School, Mt. Vernon, N. Y 133 > 

St. John's Orphans' Home, Sulphur Springs, N. Y 138 ^' 

Orphans' Home, Philadelphia, Pa 144 ^ 

German Seamen's Homes 157 ^""^^ 

Immigrant House, New York City, N. Y 160 '~^ 

Seamen's Home, Philadelphia, Pa. 160 

Seamen's Home, Hoboken, N. J 160 

Luther Hospice, Philadelphia, Pa 164 

Hospice for Young Women, Md^neapolis, Minn 164 

7 



8 ILLUSTRATIONS 

FAGB 

Hospices: Frankfort, Dresden 164 

Passavant Hospital, Pittsburg, Pa 192 ^ 

Colony of Mercy, Bielefeld 197 t/ 

Institution for Cripples at Cracau 197 

Kensington Dispensary, Philadelphia, Pa , 200 ^ 

Passavant Homes for Epileptics, Rochester, Pa 200 

Asylum for Aged and Infirm, Philadelphia, Pa 204 1/ 

Church Home for Aged and Infirm, Buffalo, N. Y 209 ^' 

AuGUSTANA Hospital, Chicago, III 214 ^ 

Norwegian Hospital, Minneapolis, Minn 222 ^ 



THE INNER MISSION 



SIIf0 Peril 



I send thee, to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to 
light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive 
forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them that are sanctified 
by faith that is in Me— Acts 26 : 17, 18. 



®I}^ Wnxk 



I v\^as an hungred, and ye gave Me meat: I was thirsty, and ye 
gave Me drink : I was a stranger, and ye took Me in : naked, and ye 
clothed Me: I was sick, and ye visited Me: I was in prison, and ye 
came unto Me. Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it 
unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me. 
-Matth. 25 : 35, 36, 40. 



THE INNER MISSION 



INTRODUCTION 



General Statement 



When Wichern, on the afternoon of September 22, 1848, 
delivered his famous address at the Wittenberg Kirchentag, 
he sounded a trumpet call that aroused all Protestant 
Germany. For almost two decades he had been favored 
with extraordinary opportunities for observing the spiritual, 
moral, and physical wretchedness of large masses of the 
people; he had made a careful study of the causes which led 
to their degradation; he had clearly discerned through whom 
and by what means and methods the required relief must 
be brought about; and now, filled with warmest love to his 
Lord and to suffering humanity, and with a glowing zeal for 
service, he called upon the entire Protestant Church of 
Germany to make the work of the Inner Mission, which so 
far had been only sporadic, a part of her own life and being, 
and thus to demonstrate her faith by her love. That hour 
marked the beginning of the Inner Mission as a general and 
systematized movement. As the immediate result of the 
impulse given by Wichern, the Central Committee for the 
Inner Mission of the German Evangelical Church was or- 
ganized at Berlin, January 4, 1849, to be followed since then 
by many similar associations, provincial and local, in all 
parts of Germany, in the Scandinavian coimtries, and now 
even in America. 

In his classical document, known as the Denkschrift, pre- 
pared at the request of the Central Committee, and dated 
April 21, 1849, Wichern outlined the Program of the Inner 

11 



12 THE INNER MISSION 

Mission. It was to prevent, if possible, the dechristianiza- 
tion of Germany; to combat the growing indifference and un- 
behef among all classes and conditions alike; by a more ex- 
tensive preaching and diffusion of the Gospel, and by the 
ministrations of Christian love and mercy, to aid the Family, 
the Church, and the State in the removal of existing evils; 
and, by virtue of the principle of the universal priesthood of 
believers, to enlist and utilize in this work the living and active 
members of the Church without interfering at any point 
with the prerogatives of the Family, the Church, or the 
State, where these faithfully performed their God-given 
duties. 

As regards the practical life of the Church the Denk- 
schrift was the most significant document of the nineteenth 
century. It, indeed, contemplated nothing new, but it 
asked in incisive tones for the restoration and application 
to existing conditions of principles and methods as old as 
Christianity itself. Hence those engaged in the Inner Mis- 
sion cause must ever continue to go to it for instruction and 
inspiration if they would guard their work against degenerat- 
ing into mere humanitarianism on the one hand or a senti- 
mental evangelism on the other. 

The Term "Innere Mission" 

The term Innere Missio7i was first publicly used by Pro- 
fessor Fr. Liicke of Gottingen in an address at a mission 
conference on the 13th of November, 1842. But about the 
same time, and altogether independently, Wichern was 
also employing it in connection with his work at the Rauhe 
Haus, Hamburg, begun in 1833. At the Stuttgart Inner 
Mission Congress in 1857 he said: " In upholding the right 
to do mission work within Christendom as distinguished 
from similar work outside of it, the term Innere Mission 
was coined, and was current in the life and vocabulary of the 
Rauhe Haus before anyone else had used it";^ and in the 

1 Gesammelte Schriften. Vol. iii, p. 964. 



INTRODUCTION 1 3 

first report of his Training School (Diakonenhaus) in 1843 
he called said institution a " Seminary for the Inner Mission 
among German Protestants." Thus the term originated 
almost simultaneously in two places. 

In more recent times other names have been proposed. 
Thus Uhlhorn^ and Lehmann^ treat of the work of the Inner 
Mission under the designation Christliche Liebestkdtigkeit 
(i. e., Christian Charity). Others have suggested the term 
Diakonie.^ But neither of these terms fully covers the work 
and purpose of the Inner Mission. There are other works 
of Christian mercy that have no connection whatever with 
the Inner Mission as an organized movement, e. g., the work 
of foreign missions and private charity. Moreover, in 
limiting the scope of the Inner Mission chiefly to the works 
of Christian mercy among the poor and sick and needy in 
general, its character and purpose as a Gospel missionary 
force among all classes is almost entirely overlooked. 

Wichem's Definition of Inner Mission 

As the Inner Mission in the form in which Wichern con- 
ceived of it had been antedated by various private and in- 
dividual efforts of like nature, none of which entered into 
the life of the Church and of society as a whole, he defined 
it as " the collective and not isolated labor of love which , 
springs from faith in Christ, and which seeks to bring about 
the internal and external renewal of the masses within 
Christendom who have fallen under the dominion of those 
evils which result directly and indirectly from sin, and who 
are not reached, as for their spiritual renewal they ought 
to be, by the established official organs of the Church. It 
does not overlook any external or internal need, the relief of 
which can be made an object of Christian love. It recog- 
nizes the Christ-bought and indestructible unity of life in 

^Die Christliche Liebesth'dtigkeit, Stuttgart, 1882-90. Vol. iii. 

^Die Werke der Liehe, Leipzig, 1883. 

3 Thus Warneck: Evang. Missionslehre, Gotha, 1892. Part I, p. 4. 



14 THE INNER MISSION 

State and Church, in the nation and family, in all the ranks 
of Christian society, and lays hold of it with its saving powers. 
And amid the extraordinary and distorted conditions of the 
present, before which those in authority are impotent and 
the Church is silent, it distinguishes the voice of the people 
as these ask for its saving work, and hopes that by divine aid 
society may be so benefited that Church and State may come 
to newness of life — an aim that will set a bound to its own 
labors."^ Eight years later Wichern made substantially 
the same statement when, in a series of theses at the second' 
Stuttgart Inner Mission Congress, he said: " The Inner 
Mission is the unfolding and active exercise of the faith and 
vital powers of the entire body of believers in the Church, 
in the State, and in all forms of social life, for the conquest 
of everything unchristian and antichristian that seeks or 
has found a place in the home or community, in usages 
and laws, in science and art, in all the departments of the 
material and spiritual life of the masses and of the nations 
within Christendom."^ Quite in harmony with these 
declarations the Statutes of the Central Committee declare 
the purpose of the Inner Mission to be " the relief of the 
spiritual and physical needs of our evangelical people by 
means of the preached Word and the ministrations of Chris- 
tian love." ^ 

An analysis of these several statements will yield the fol- 
lowing result: 

1 Gesammelte Schriften. Vol. iii, p. 268 £F. 

^ Ibid. Vol. iii, p. 943. Thesis 9. 

3 Other definitions: Schafer: " The Inner Mission is that ecclesiastical 
reformatory movement of the nineteenth century which seeks to improve 
the internal condition of the Church (i. e., of the organized, visible Church) 
by jjermanently incorporating into it and making effective within it both the 
free proclamation of the Gospel and the works of mercy." — Leitfaden der 
Inneren Mission, 4th ed. p. 3. Wurster: "In so far as it represents the 
systematic efforts of living evangelical Christendom, the Inner Mission of 
the last hundred years is that reform movement within the Church which seeks 
to relieve those ethico-religious needs of society and of evangelical communities 
for the amelioration of which the Family, the Church, and the State, as ordained 
factors, no longer sufficed; but with the express purpose of leading those won 
by it into the Church, and through all its efforts to make the existing Church 
in the truest sense a Church of the people." — Die Lehre von der Inneren 
Mission, 1895, p. 127. 



INTRODUCTION 1$ 

I. The Inner Mission seeks to serve the entire mass of 
society, and not merely a class. It is a mistake to assume 
that it addresses itself only to the lowest and most degraded 
elements, somewhat after the fashion of the Salvation Army. 
It recognizes the fact that great e\dls affect society in gen- 
eral — that greed, extravagance, covetousness, dishonesty, 
oppression, licentiousness, discontent, lack of conscience, 
indifference to things spiritual, and a host of other wrongs, 
with all their direful consequences, are to a greater or less 
extent found among all classes and conditions; that even 
among the educated and well-to-do, as among those far 
beneath them, there are also many who, yielding to the 
seductions of wealth, the spirit of the times, and those forces 
by which Christian principles and practice are undermined, 
have had their hearts ahenated from the Gospel of Christ 
and the things of the kingdom of God.^ Hence, as these evils 
are not confined to a particular class, the Inner Mission aims 
at the renewal of society as a whole by influencing at every 
possible point the units which compose it. In every such 
unit it sees sin as the root from which all social evil springs; 
and as social improvement cannot take place without moral 
renovation, the Inner Mission, when rightly directed, bends 
all its energies toward reaching and changing the fountain 
of evil — the natural, sinful human heart. Endeavoring 
thus to purify the polluted stream at its very source, it be- 
comes a force " for the conquest of everything unchristian 
and antichristian that seeks or has found a place in the home 
or community, in usages and laws, in science and art, in all 
the departments of the material and spiritual life of the masses 
and of the nations within Christendom." 

To the Family the Inner Mission extends its aid in the care 
and instruction of children not otherwise provided for: 
in the maintenance of servants' training-schools and homes, 
and of homes for working women, of Christian inns and 

1 " In defining the sphere of the Inner Mission it is a great mistake to assume 
that it has in Aaew only the saving of the poor and illiterate: the rich and 
richest and most cultured equally need this." — Wichern: Gesammelte 
Schriften. Vol. iii, p. 237. 



l6 THE INNER MISSION 

hospices, young people's societies, and like preventive means 
for those imperiled by their surroundings; and in conducting 
Magdalen homes for the rescue of fallen women, homes for 
the reformation of inebriates, and labor colonies for the 
unemployed. It aids the Church in the work of diaspora, 
seamen's and city missions, in parish work among the sick 
and poor, in the dissemination of the printed Word, in the 
circulation of Christian literature, in seeking to bring about 
a better observance of the Lord's Day, and in other like 
efforts. It comes to the assistance of the State in the Chris- 
tian care of prisoners and discharged convicts, of dependent, 
defective, and delinquent children, of the sick and poor, 
and of the needy in times of war and pestilence. Many 
of these it takes into its own institutions, thus relieving 
the State of their care; while in other instances it supplies 
the trained helpers in State institutions. Furthermore the 
Inner Mission takes note of such questions as the better 
housing of the poor, and the encouragement of thrift among 
these; and in the proper solution of social problems in general, 
it seeks to co-operate with the State. 

2. The methods of the Inner Mission are, however, not those 
of the State. While in its combat with the grossest forms 
of evil it may, indeed, now and then find it necessary to 
invoke the strong arm of the law; nevertheless, as sin is in 
every case the prime evil to be eradicated, it does not hope to 
effect a radical cure by means of legislative enactments, 
but through the Gospel. In this alone it sees the power — 
God's power — by which nations as well as individuals are 
brought to newness of life. Upon this alone it relies to 
renew, purify, and strengthen the spiritual man. It is the 
one great means above every other that it uses to shape the 
character of the young, to serve as a protection to the tempted 
and imperiled, to lift up the fallen, to bring real comfort and 
cheer to the sick and suffering, and as the source from which 
all may obtain the true riches — the means under the in- 
fluence of which it would have all social, civic, and business 
relations adjusted and regulated, and have the second great 



INTRODUCTION 1 7 

commandment come to its own: " Thou shalt love thy neigh- 
bor as thyself." 

3. Hence the Inner Mission is. above all, to be regarded as 
a missionary force, whose ultimate purpose it is to reach all 
to whom it ministers with the saving Gospel. The concep- 
tion which limits it to the works of Christian mercy is alto- 
gether too narrow. Nevertheless it makes a most extensive 
use of these, but always in the service of the Gospel; and it is 
this combination of a large benevolent activity with the 
communication of the Word that differentiates it from the 
work of home missions in our American sense. ^ 

4. It must now be apparent that Inner Mission work is 
far above mere humanitarian and philanthropic effort. The 
latter is, indeed, not to be despised so far as it goes; but it 
does not go far enough. It is a mistake, therefore, to confuse 
what is in these days called Sociology with Inner Mission. 
The two do not agree either in their diagnosis of the funda- 
mental cause of all the evils which they seek to combat, or 
as regards the remedy to be applied. The terms " sin " 
and " Gospel " are hardly known in the vocabulary of the 
sociologist, and he may moreover be Christian, Jew, or 
agnostic. Hence the character of his work is largely con- 
ditioned by his view-point. In most cases he would bring 
about a new mode of thought and life by simply changing 
the environment, which, however important as an adjunct, 
does not go to the root of the trouble; or he may even attempt 
to eradicate great moral defects and vicious propensities, 
which our Lord says " proceed out of the heart," by means 
of a surgical operation ! But all such efforts are only ex- 
ternal. This is not the way of the Inner Mission. " If 
we would alleviate external distress," says a German writer, 
" we must, above all things, relieve the internal necessity. 
Moral ruin is as much the premise as the result of external 
decay. It is just the appreciation of the mutual influence 
of these two sides, the aiming at the removal of both the 
inward and the outward poverty, which are so emphatically 

1 For the further elaboration of this phase of the subject see pp. 22-32. 



1 8 THE INNER MISSION 

insisted on in the so-called Inner Mission. Such an institu- 
tion is both the offspring and the need of our times. And 
what has it not already effected? Its field of operation is 
truly an extensive one. Here we behold asylums in which 
children are sheltered from destitution, there houses of 
refuge in which men are helped out of moral ruin; here homes 
in which travellers are preserved from temptation, there 
institutions which offer a dwelling to female servants; here 
the navvies on our railroads are sought out that they may not 
be destitute of the Word of God, there the emigrants are 
visited that they may take the Gospel away with them; 
here every energy is devoted to the oversight of prisoners, 
there to the care of the sick and wounded, and to many like 
purposes. And the soul of all this is that compassionate 
love which seeks the lost. This and nothing else rules in 
every institution really belonging to the Inner Mission, all 
objections to which come to naught in the presence of its 
blessed results. And these all accrue to the profit of the 
Church." 1 

5. Another characteristic of the Inner Mission is that in 
its operations it seeks to enlist the entire body of believers, 
in closest touch with the Church's ministry and means of 
grace. In defining more fully the ninth thesis at the sec- 
ond Stuttgart Congress (p. 14) Wichern said: "When we 
speak of the universal priesthood of believers we have in 
mind the privilege which all such have of direct access to the 
Father, through Christ, and in Christ's name at all times to 
worship and serve God, thus bringing Him their life and 
entire person as a sacrifice. But the offering of such a sacri- 
fice, as an act of faith in the Son of God, transforms the 
believer into a fountain of blessing, in whom is fulfilled the 
gracious promise that out of his belly shall flow rivers of 
living water. The congregation of believers thus becomes 
a blessing-dispensing congregation of priests, a royal people 
of God, in which each one who has received the witness of 
God, himself becomes a witness of the life that God gives, 
' Bruckner: The Church, Edinburgh, 1867, pp. 250, 251. 



INTRODUCTION 1 9 

and in the power of that life feels impelled to show forth the 
praises of Him who hath called him out of darkness into His 
marvelous light. As such the priesthood of believers con- 
secrates itself to missionary labors, including those of the 
Inner Mission. Whether it be the housefather in his family, 
the artist or scientist engaged in his studies, the government 
ofl&cial, the soldier or tradesman, man or woman — each in 
his or her calling and position, however diverse, will labor 
for the extension of God's kingdom, that it may come not 
only to them, but also to those who are not yet in it."^ 
And that those already of the Church might learn thus to 
view their duties and responsibilities,- he said on another 
occasion: " It often happens in societies that there is such 
imceasing wrangling over rules and regulations that all 
desire for and pleasure in the service of the Lord is destroyed. 
But let it not be forgotten that the preaching of the Divine 
Word is the prime requisite for the maintenance of the 
Church's life. Above all must the doctrine of the univer- 
sal priesthood of believers be emphasized, so that each 
one may come to realize that it is his duty to labor for his 
Master and his Master's kingdom wherever God has placed 
him and given him the opportunity."^ It was a living 
Church that Wichern had in mind, not a Church galvanized 
into the appearance of life by sensational, sectarian, or 
mechanical and artificial methods, but a Church made 
genuinely living by the living Word of God, preached in 
demonstration of the Spirit and of power. And if we of 
to-day would successfully cope with the needs which Inner 
Mission seeks to relieve, let us not forget whence the Church 
must derive her life. 

As the Church in Germany is closely affiliated with the State, 
the Inner Mission movement is independent of the Church's 
control, and yet the Church's most efficient helping hand. It 
does not take the place of the Church, but seeks to bring into 
unity of purpose and action the Church's living members. It 

1 Gesammelie Schriften. Vol. iii, pp. 957, 958. 
^Ibid. Vol. iii, pp. 584, 585. 



20 THE INNER MISSION 

recognizes the constituted Church authorities and is recognized 
by them. Its methods have been largely adopted by the State 
Churches; its trained helpers are employed by them; official 
representatives of the State Churches appear at its congresses; 
professors of Practical Theology lecture on the subject; 
special short courses of instruction are held in populous 
centers; and thus the work of the State Churches and that 
of the Inner Mission have in many instances become practi- 
cally one and the same. 

The Inner Mission movement was at first opposed in 
Germany, chiefly from two sides — the rationalistic (Darm- 
stadter Allgemeine Kirchenzeitung, Diesterweg, etc.) and 
by individual members of the strictly confessional side 
(Claus Harms, Petri, Lindner, Lohe). The latter contended: 
I. That the free associations (Inner Mission societies) by 
and through which the work was carried on were not of the 
Church, nor in the Church (in her organized capacity), 
but alongside of the Church, and therefore a menace to 
churchly life and order. 2. That the movement was in 
conflict with the teachings of the New Testament regarding 
the Church and her ministry. 3. That a movement which 
was not in every one of its details directed by the estabHshed 
ecclesiastical authorities was in constant danger of degener- 
ating into sectarianism. Nevertheless it was most heartily 
welcomed and met with some of its earliest and most pro- 
nounced successes in regions whose Lutheranism was of the 
strictest type (Mecklenburg, Bavaria); and, as experience 
by degrees demonstrated that the movement was neither 
antagonistic, separatistic, nor sectarian, but, on the contrary, 
most helpful in reaching those in soul and body whom the 
organized Church for lack of a proper agency had failed to 
reach, it began to enlist the active interest and co-operation 
of an ever-increasing number of pastors, opposition practi- 
cally ceased, and Petri and Lohe themselves became cham- 
pions of the cause, the one by taking an active part in organiz- 
ing the Inner Mission Society of the Evangelical Lutheran 



INTRODUCTION 31 

Church of Hanover, the other by establishing a similar 
society in Bavaria. 

The following observations by Schafer will now serve to 
give a somewhat comprehensive answer to the question: 
" What is the Inner Mission?" ^ 

" The Inner Mission is a product of that faith which 
worketh by love. Whatever is not undertaken in this spirit 
is not Inner Mission. 

" The Inner Mission is an extra-official activity. It does 
not emanate from any professional obHgation imposed by 
the Family, the Church, or the State, but solely from a 
heart actuated by the love of Christ. 

" The Inner Mission does its work within the pale of the 
Church. Those not of the Church, e. g., the Jews and the 
heathen, are not Inner Mission objects. 

" The tools of the Inner Mission are the Word and the 
Work. Very often these are found in closest connection, 
the latter not infrequently predominating. In such case 
the labor of love is intended to pave the way for the Word. 

" Extraordinary and ovei^helming needs brought the 
Inner Mission into existence, and must still require its labors. 

" The work of the Inner Mission is in most cases voluntary, , 
though organized as in the institution and association." 

In America we are to-day confronted by needs quite similar 
to those which called the Inner Mission into being in Germany. 
The revolution in industry and commerce since the Civil 
War; the extraordinary increase in material wealth; the greed 
that characterizes the laboring classes equally with the capi- 
talist; the corrupt practices in politics and business; the 
congestion of population in the cities; the excesses, follies, 
and sins of the idle rich on the one hand, and the needs of 
the genuinely poor on the other; the perils to which child- 
hood and youth are often exposed; the loose views on the 
marriage tie and the sanctity of the family; the disappear- 
ance of the home with its ennobling and restraining in- 
fluences wherever wealth makes luxurious hotel life and 
1 Die Inner e Mission in der Schule, p. 95. 



22 THE INNER MISSION 

migratory habits possible or poverty compels refuge in the 
overcrowded and unsanitary tenement; the very wide dis- 
semination of more or less pernicious literature; the growing 
indifference of large numbers towards everything spiritual; 
the changes in modes of thought and belief to which the last 
two or three decades have given rise; and the gradual lower- 
ing of ethical standards as institutions of learning and pulpits 
have departed from the explicit teachings of revelation — 
all these and other conditions thrust before us problems, 
social and religious, of so grave an import that as Christians, 
holding fast to the old truths, we cannot ignore them without 
proving unfaithful to our profession. Nor can they be solved 
in a superficial way. As all evils in the life of the nation and 
of the individual have their root in sin, neither legislative 
enactments, nor hysterical and evanescent evangelistic 
movements, nor anything else short of the faithful, persistent 
inculcation of the inspired Word and the labor of Christian 
love will effectually meet the case. Regarding both much 
may be learned from the Scriptural, sober, and practical 
methods of the Inner Mission of Germany. Nevertheless 
in the application of these due note must be taken of our 
changed conditions. Here we have not only those to deal 
with who as mem.bers of the Church need her protection 
and succor, or who, having lapsed from the Church, need 
to be reclaimed; but with large masses besides who have 
never had even the most remote connection with the Church. 
It might be urged indeed that to reach and win these is the 
legitimate work of home missions; but would not home mis- 
sion work prove vastly more effective if carried on in the 
spirit and according to the principles and practice of the 
Inner Mission ? 

The New Testament Basis of Inner Mission 

A careful study of the work of the Inner Mission discloses 
the following characteristics: It is both preventive and 
reformatory. It looks for the causes of moral and physical 



INTRODUCTION 23 

ruin, and seeks to remove these. It goes after the lost and 
makes 'every effort to save them. It is concerned for man's 
physical and intellectual well-being as well as for his spiritual. 
It believes, that next to the preaching of the Word as the 
supreme redemptive means, it is the duty of the kingdom of 
God on earth to alleviate external misery and to provide 
those agencies that make for nobler manhood and woman- 
hood. It therefore suits the practice to the preaching, 
gives the Gospel a concrete form, and utilizes every point 
of contact that presents itself. As such it does not presume 
to take the place of the Family, the Church, or the State 
when these do what belongs to them, but only supplies to 
the best of its ability what they often fail to do. Its impulse 
is that love of God and man which is born of a living faith; 
and all its purely benevolent deeds have for their ultimate 
purpose the preparation of the soil for the living Word, as 
the renewing, vitalizing, and strengthening power in the life 
both of the individual and of society. 

Hence, without regarding Him merely in the light of a 
social reformer,^ the Inner Mission finds the warrant for its 

» " Christ sees in every man, even in the poorest and most miserable, a 
human being whose privilege it is to become a member of the kingdom of 
God. This is in all cases attainable, even though we have to allow that it is 
not in our power to relieve all the distress and misery in the world; for misery 
and distress are no hindrance to any man's being or becoming a member of 
the kingdom of God. It is a truly heathen idea to say, as a reason for desist- 
ing from works of mercy: ' All this is of no use; we can never make all men 
happy.' For this is not the only object of Christian charity. It has a much 
higher end in view, and all that is done in the way of removing or alleviating 
misery and distress is only done as a means towards this higher end, the 
advancement of the kingdom of God. Accordingly, it is a fundamental mis- 
conception of the work of Christ and Christianity to say, speaking from the 
social point of view, that the work of Christ has failed, and that Christianity 
has not succeeded in fulfilling the task set before it, since there is at the present 
time quite as much distress and misery in the world as before. As though 
Christ had wished to be a social reformer; when what He really did was to 
proclaim that in comparison with the highest end in hfe, social position is a 
matter of absolute unimportance, and to appoint to human life an object attain- 
able by every one, namely, the kingdom of God, in which every one may have 
a share, be his outward position what it may, be he rich or poor, high or low, 
freeman or slave. It was not to take away poverty that Christ appeared; on 
the contrary, He says: 'The poor always ye have with you' (John 12 : 8). 
He came to bring the poor into the kingdom of God. He did not come to put 
an end to aU the distress in the world; on the contrary, He says to His disciples: 
'In the world ye shall have tribulation' (John 16 : 23)- He came to comfort 
the broken-hearted and sorrowing. Not social reform, but the founding of 



24 THE INNER MISSION 

aims and methods in the Words and Works of Jesus.* He 
Himself distinctly announced the purpose of His coming 
into the world in the words: " The Son of man is come to 
seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19 :io). To 
the lost He therefore turned with the message of pardon 
through His obedience and sacrifice — the Gospel message 
that " God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten 
Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but 
have everlasting life" (John 3 :i6). But His concern for 
the lost went beyond their purely spiritual needs. Recog- 
nizing the close connection between sin and human misery, 
their temporal and physical needs also appealed to Him. 
Hence His preaching and teaching were throughout His 
ministry accompanied by works of mercy (Matt. 4 : 23 ; 
9 : 35; Mark i : 39-42; 6 : 34 ff, et aL). Nevertheless His 
evident purpose in so closely combining the Word and the 
Work was to make the latter serve the former, but in various 
ways. Sometimes His works were meant simply to direct 
attention to His person and doctrine, that is, they were an 
appeal to the mind. Thus after the stilling of the tempest 
*' the men marvelled, saying, what manner of man is this, 
that even the winds and the sea obey Him?" (Matt. 8 : 27); 
after the healing of the paralytic '' the multitude marvelled, 
and glorified God, which had given such power into men " 
(Matt. 9:8); and again, after the healing of a dumb man 
possessed with a devil, " the multitudes marvelled, sa3dng. 
It was never so seen in Israel" (Matt. 9 : 33).^ In addition 
to the preaching of the Gospel Jesus also distinctly points 

the kingdom of God was His life's work. And he did found that kingdom 
which is in Himself, and when this is realized, then are the influences which 
flow from Christ and play upon the social side of our life found to be sancti- 
fying and healing; but they are only the consequences of the inner change, and 
hence only indirectly experienced. They are of the things which are ' added 
unto' those who seek first after the kingdom of God. Hence it must appear 
that it would be imputing an erroneous motive to Christian charity, and 
adopting a wrong standard whereby to judge of its history, were we to ask 
how far it has succeeded in doing away with all poverty, and in makingall 
here on earth outwardly happy." — Uhlhorn: Christian Charity in the Ancient 
Church, pp. 60-62. 

» Cf. Schafer: Die Innere Mission in der Schule, p. 132 ff. 

2 Cf. Mark i : 27; 4 : 41; 7 : 37- 



INTRODUCTION 25 

to His works as the other mark of His Messiahship, when, in 
answer to the question of John, " Art Thou He that should 
come, or do we look for another ?" He says to the two 
disciples of John: "Go and show John again those things 
which ye do hear and see; the blind receive their sight, and 
the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the 
dead are raised up, and the poor have the Gospel preached 
to them" (Matt. 11 : 4, 5). Still other works of Jesus had 
for their specific purpose either the manifestation of His own 
glory, or the manifestation of the works of God in man, that 
seeing, men might believe. Thus the very first miracle per- 
formed by Jesus " manifested forth His glory," with the result 
that " His disciples beheved on Him " (John 2 : 11); the man 
born blind, to whom Jesus gave sight, confessed, " Lord, I 
believe," and "worshipped Him" (John 9 : 38); and of the 
nobleman whose son Jesus had healed it is said: " And him- 
self believed, and his whole house" (John 4 : 53).^ In the 
Feeding of the Five Thousand (Matt. 14:15-21; Mark 
6 : 34-44; Luke 9 : 12-17; John 6 : 5-14) and the Feeding 
of the Four Thousand (Matt. 15:32-39; Mark 8:1-9). 
Jesus, furthermore, gave ocular dem.onstration how those 
who first seek the kingdom of God shall have all these things 
added imto them (Matt. 6:33). Finally, to some of His 
benevolent deeds, like the healing of one deaf and dumb 
(Mark 7 : 32-37) and of the blind man at Bethsaida (Mark 
8: 22-26), Jesus did not add one word of spiritual instruc- 
tion, but allowed the naked labor of love to be the impressive 
sermon to those who witnessed it. 

Jesus Himself expressed the ultimate purpose of all His 
works of mercy when He said, as He healed the man who was 
born bhnd: '' Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: 
but that the works of God should be made manifest in him " 
(John 9:3). These works were to be the proof that the 
kingdom of God had come indeed, that Fie was now present 
in the world who " was manifested, that He might destroy 
the works of the devil," and that, therefore, men ought to 

1 Cf. Luke 7 : 16; 18 : 43. 



26 THE INNER MISSION 

believe in Him (Luke 11:20-22; i John 3:8; John 10:37,38). 
For the same reason those who were sent out to plant the 
Church were commissioned not only to preach the Gospel, 
but to show by works of mercy that the kingdom of God 
was come nigh (Mark 3 : 14, 15; 6 :i2, 13; Luke 9 : 2, 6; 
10:1, 9, 10, 11). Thus it came that the service of love and 
mercy, in demonstration of the Gospel's power, was the spe- 
cial characteristic of the first Christians, and a most power- 
ful factor in the conquest of the heathen world/ And in all 
this the Church of to-day must see what it behooves her to 
do, as the institution, divinely ordained, to mediate the 
coming of the kingdom of God.^ 

Among the Lord's parables that have a very direct bearing 
on our subject are those of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10: 
30-37), the Lost Sheep (Luke 15 : 3-7), and the Lost Coin 
(Luke 15 : 8-10). The first of these teaches that every son 
and daughter of Adam, as a member of the great human 

1 " The Church, born of love, and living in love, v?as the appropriate organ 
for the practice of love. It interested itself first in those of its members who 
needed help in any way, then it went beyond them to embrace in its love those 
who stood without. For these were to be won for the Church. Love worked 
in a missionary way. It excluded none, as the grace which kindled it excluded 
no one, not even enemies and persecutors. . . . The heathen recognized 
this sign. With amazement they gazed upon this new strange life of love, and 
it is not too much to say that the victory of the Church, like that of her Lord, 
was a victory of ministering love." — Uhlhorn: The Conflict of Christianity 
with Heathenism, pp. 197, 191. 

2 " As there could be no kingdom of God upon earth without the Church, 
so would charity soon die out in all other spheres if the Church desisted from 
it; and whatever rendering of assistance and care for the poor there might 
remain would be of quite a different character from compassionate love. 
For all love has its origin in the love of God in Christ Jesvis, of which the 
Church is witness, not only by her words, but also by her deeds, inasmuch 
as she practices the works of charity. From her is derived the call to, as well 
as the strength for, charity in all its spheres; she shows to its every form that 
its highest end lies in the advancement of the kingdom of God; she leads us 
to love, just as our Lord, while He Himself did works of mercy, taught His 
disciples to do the same. Just as the idea of the kingdom of God is more 
comprehensive than that of the Church, while the Church is the central point 
of the kingdom of God upon earth; so also is Christian charity more com- 
prehensive than that of the Church, but the Church is and remains the central 
point. Let us remember that there could not be any real charity in the 
heathen world because there was no community. There is one now; our Lord 
has founded it. The day of Pentecost was, as it were, the birthday of the 
Church; and it was also the birthday of that Christian charity which is in- 
separable from the Church." — Uhlhorn: Christian Charity in the Ancient 
Church, pp. 71, 72. 



INTRODUCTION 1^ 

family on earth, is to be regarded as a neighbor; and that 
onl}^ he who shows mercy to those in actual need is possessed 
of true neighborly love. This love does not ask: ^'Who 
are you?" ''What is your nationality?" "To what 
creed do you hold?" and the like; but to any one actually 
fallen among thieves, robbed and wounded, it is at once 
ready to give adequate relief. It is compassionate; it in- 
vestigates to determine actual conditions ; it renders personal 
service; it sacrifices comfort, time, and means; it does not 
grow weary in well doing; and in all that it does it is ab- 
solutely unselfish. The Good Samaritan loved, not in word, 
neither in tongue, but "in deed and in truth"; and having 
done so, he departed and did not even reveal his name. 

In the parables of the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin the 
reference is to those who were once in the kingdom of grace, 
but who are there no longer. Both the sheep and the coin 
were lost, but the one through its own fault, by straying 
from the flock of itself; the other through the lack of care and 
watchfulness on the part of the woman. The shepherd 
speaks of his sheep which was lost, the woman, of the coin 
which she lost. Both parables, therefore, set before us a 
condition which lias always existed, and which it is the very 
specific object of the Inner Mission to overcome. Both 
are also illustrations of the seeking love and the personal 
effort which characterize Inner Mission methods. Only 
one lost sheep ! Only one lost piece of silver ! Yet what 
efforts are put forth to find the one I The man goes after the 
lost sheep, and does not cease to seek until he finds it ! The 
woman fights a candle, sweeps the house, and searches diU- 
gently for the lost piece until it comes to view ! The Church's 
duty is thus made plain. Her work must be aggressive, 
personal and indi\idual. With her Word and Sacraments, 
her ministry of mercy, her willing men and women, and all 
her saving agencies she must seek the lost until she finds 
them. The Lord's own ministry was a seeking and saving 
ministry, in many cases a laboring with individual souls 
(Nicodemus, the woman of Samaria, etc.); and His express 



28 THE INNER MISSION 

command is: "Go, and make disciples" (Matt. 28:19); 
" Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and 
bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and 
the blind" (Luke 14 : 21). 

And in this kind of service the Lord requires persistent 
faithfulness. Those whom He has called into His Church 
are not to be idlers, but workers (Parable of the Laborers 
in the Vineyard, Matt. 20 : 1-16). All such are to regard 
themselves as servants to v/hom their Master has entrusted 
gifts, abiUties, means, and opportunities which they are to 
utilize to the utmost (Parable of the Talents, Matt. 25: 
14-30; of the Pounds, Luke 19 : 11-27; and of the Unjust 
Steward, Luke 16 : 1-9). To fail to do so is to invite con- 
demnation. The servant who hid his talent in the earth is 
called " wicked and slothful"; he who laid up his pound in a 
napkin is also denominated " wicked "; and the steward who 
had wasted his master's goods is termed " unjust." All 
of them were unfaithful to their trust, and were dealt with 
accordingly. 

In endeavoring to mold society by changing the units 
which compose it, the Inner Mission recognizes the truth 
conveyed in the Parable of the Leaven, to wit, that the 
kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ is the great, though silent 
transforming power not only in the heart and life of the in- 
dividual, but also in the thought and life of the world. The 
Church (the woman of the parable) , with her means of grace, 
is the institution through which the Holy Spirit applies 
redemption. The Gospel which she preaches and teaches 
is the new and quickening force brought into human life 
from above. And this Word of the kingdom, hidden in the 
mass, silently but effectually changes it from within out- 
ward. " The true renovation, that which God effects, is 
ever thus, from the inward to the outward; it begins in the 
inner spiritual world, though it does not end there: for it 
fails not to bring about, in good time, a mighty change also 
in the outward and visible world." ^ Thus it has always 

1 Trench: Notes on the Parables of Our Lord, p. ii8. 



INTRODUCTION 29 

been. The Gospel, at first received and believed by only 
a few, made of these new creatures in Christ Jesus, and fitted 
them to become the bearers of salvation to others. Working 
from center to circumference the leaven thus introduced 
finally permeated more or less the entire Roman empire. 
It transformed the Teutonic nations. It is to-day the great 
vitalizing and uplifting force in heathen lands; and would we 
see what changes it is capable of producing in isolated com- 
munities we need but point to a single illustration like that 
furnished by Oberlin in his remarkable work in the Steinthal. 
The Inner Mission, while neglecting no external agency by 
which human needs can be relieved, is then altogether right 
in laying stress chiefly on the means whereby the Holy 
Spirit renews and purifies the heart of man. Individuals, 
communities, and nations are changed and made better only 
as they come under the transforming power of the Gospel. 

Numerous other sayings of Jesus are also to be noted in this 
connection. Thus Matt. 9:37, 38: "The harvest truly 
is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the 
Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth labourers into 
His harvest." Jesus had just made a tour of the cities and 
villages of Galilee, " teaching in their synagogues, and preach- 
ing the Gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness 
and every disease among the people." What He saw of the 
spiritual and physical misery of the multitudes filled him with 
compassion; and this compassion found utterance in the 
above words to His disciples. But what He then declared 
to be the case is equally true to-day. How large is still 
the number of the churchless and Christless, of the indiffer- 
ent and neglected, of the distressed and needy ! And how 
few in comparison are those who, as real laborers, put their 
gifts and talents into actual use whenever and wherever 
they have the opportunity ! We have largely accustomed 
ourselves to an easy-going Christianity. We love to take, but 
not to give. We seek ease and enjoyment, but shun service 
and sacrifice. We are satisfied with ourselves when we have 
fulfilled, as we think, our obligations to God, and forget 



30 THE INNER MISSION 

too often our obligations to our fellows. We make our 
service of God to consist of the hymns we sing and the pray- 
ers we offer, and fail to remember that " pure religion and 
undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the 
fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself 
unspotted from the world" (James i : 27). In a word, we 
too often overlook the intimate relation between the two 
great commandments. We do not fully recognize the truth 
taught in the second, that as members of the kingdom we are 
to serve men as well as God, and that he loves and serves 
God best who, in Christ's name and for Christ's sake, most 
lovingly and faithfully discharges his duties to his fellow- 
men. Therefore we need to pray that the Lord will send 
forth laborers into His harvest. We need to ask not only 
that He will make others willing, but that He will also make 
us willing. We need to beg for increased light, warmer love, 
larger views of duty, a more self-sacrificing spirit, more ready 
obedience. Yes, we need to pray for the disposition of which 
Paul speaks when he says: " Let this mind be in you, which 
was also in Christ Jesus; who, being in the form of God, 
thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made 
Himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a 
servanV^ {dovXoq = sl bond-servant, a slave, Phil. 2:5-7). 
And the more we pray for this mind, the more will we be- 
come like the Master, until with Him we will find ourselves 
compelled to say: " I must work the works of Him that sent 
me while it is day; the night cometh, when no man can work " 
(John 9:4). 

As touching the question of service, Jesus says of Him- 
self: " The Son of man came not to be ministered unto, 
but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many " 
(Matt. 20 : 28). The terms used in this connection (v. 26, 
8idxovo<^ = servant; v. 27, douXo? = bond-servant; v. 28, 
diaxovito = to serve) indicate clearly how Jesus regarded 
Himself and His work, and how He would have those called 
into His kingdom regard themselves. Paul (Rom. 1:1), 
Peter (2 Peter i : i), James (i : i), Jude (i), and John 



INTRODUCTION 3I 

(Rev. 1:1) employ the second of the above terms to desig- 
nate their relation to Christ as their Lord and Master; and 
in a similar sense it applies to all Christians. Jesus was in 
the highest sense the servant both of His heavenly Father 
(John 6 : 38; 5 : 30; 4 : 34) and of those whom He came to 
save (Luke 22 : 27). To serve both He laid aside the glory 
which He had with the Father, entered upon a life of deepest 
humiUation, of constant self-denial, of incessant toil, of pa- 
tient sacrifice and suffering, and finally endured the cross, 
despising the shame. Even the most menial service, such as 
ordinarily only the slaves of the household were expected to 
perform, was not beneath Him (John 13:1-17). Again, 
therefore. He sets the example which all believers, no matter 
how exalted their position or how high their social standing, 
must seek to imitate. For the glory of God and the good of 
others genuine Christian love does not hesitate to perform 
the meanest and most repulsive service when the necessity 
for it arises; and only he who is willing and ready to do so is 
truly great. 

Among other sayings of Jesus pertinent to our subject are 
the following: 

" Let your light so shine before men, that they may see 
your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven " 
(Matt. 5 : 16). Jesus never meant that believers should 
hide themselves in cloisters. On the contrary. He would 
have them be lights in the world, reflecting in their good 
deeds the light they receive from Him, preeminently the Light 
of the world. And they are to be and do this not to attract 
attention to themselves, but to demonstrate the heart and 
Hfe-rene^ving power of the Gospel; not to have men praise 
them, but that men may have cause to glorify God. A light 
cannot help shining. So genuine Christians do good un- 
consciously, because it is their nature. Light shines without 
making a noise. So do the good works of behevers send forth 
a silent yet none the less powerful influence. Light warms 
and enlivens. So do the ministrations of love and mercy 
in Christ's name bring brightness and cheer into the lives of 



32 THE INNER MISSION 

the suffering and needy. Light is diffusive. Thus the 
Christian simply by what he is and does becomes a mission- 
ary to the unenHghtened about him. 

" She hath done what she could" (Mark 14 : 8). It was 
a sacrifice of sincerest love that evoked this commendation 
from Jesus. So great was the woman's love that she brought 
the Lord the costliest gift she had. Love and sacrifice al- 
ways go together. Where the former is, the latter will not 
be wanting. Where Christ dwells in the heart, time, means, 
and comfort will be willingly and abundantly offered for the' 
extension of His kingdom. The best that can be given will 
not be withheld. From the days of the apostles until now the 
work of the kingdom has gone forward because men and 
women, in love to their Lord, have done what they could; 
and this in numberless cases meant the giving of themselves. 

'' This poor widow hath cast more in than all they which 
have cast into the treasury. For all they did cast in of their 
abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, 
even all her living" (Mark 12:43, 44). Here again the 
lesson of sacrifice is taught, but in a different way. This 
woman had no costly offering to bring — she was only a poor 
widow; but she brought " all that she had, even all her 
living," and this was only two mites. Here was a far greater 
sacrifice than all those had made who had cast in of their 
abundance. With the Lord it is not the intrinsic value of the 
gift that counts, but the motive and the cost to us. Thus 
the poorest in earthly goods, if rich in faith, may become 
rich in good works. 



PART FIRST 



I. PRELIMINARY HISTORY OF THE INNER MISSION 
A. In the Early Church 

FIRST THREE CENTURIES 

In the Acts of the Apostles we find in merest outline a 
picture of the religious and moral life of primitive Chris- 
tianity. Heathenism had asked the question, What is 
truth? And Judaism, Who is my neighbor? To both these 
questions Christianity gave the answer. In the person 
of Jesus Christ the Truth and Love had become incarnate. 
The one comprised the substance of all His preaching and 
teaching; the other was the moving principle of all His 
works. " And Christians learned to find both in Him; 
they learned to possess the truth in faith, to practise love in 
life. The former was their religious, the latter their moral, 
life. Faith and love constitute the new life which entered 
into the world with Jesus Christ."^ 

To beget faith and establish His kingdom in the world 
Christ instituted His Word and Sacraments, and gave com- 
mand to preach the Gospel to every creature (Matt. 28: 
19, 20; Mark 16 : 15). By the fooUshness of preaching men 
were to be saved (i Cor. i : 21), and through Word and 
Sacrament the new life which Jesus brought into the world 
was to be communicated and find its expression in the lives 
of believers. Preaching; therefore, became the chief busi- 
ness of Christ's disciples after His ascension. Beginning 

iLuthakdt: The Church, Edinburgh, 1867, p. 69. 

33 



34 PRELIMINARY HISTORY OF THE INNER MISSION 

with Peter, through whose sermon on the day of Pentecost 
three thousand were led to repentance, and were baptized 
and added to the Church, apostles, prophets, evangelists, 
pastors, and teachers proclaimed the Gospel wherever they 
went, not only to fit believers more perfectly for service in 
the work of building up the body of Christ (Eph. 4 : 11-16), 
but also to win those who were still without. Nor was the 
privilege of prophesying restricted to a class. The later 
distinction between clergy and laity was not yet made. 
As every Christian was a priest (i Peter 2 : 5, 9), every one 
who had the gift was permitted to speak, but always only 
within the limits of decency and order (i Cor. chap. 14). 
Extraordinarily gifted preachers and teachers of this kind 
were Stephen (Acts, chaps. 6 and 7) and ApoUos (Acts 18: 
24; 19 : i) in the apostolic Church, and in the post-apostolic 
Church Origen (185-254) before his ordination as a pres- 
byter. 

The fruit of the living faith begotten by the Word was love. 
The mind of Him in whom the first Christian confessors 
believed reproduced itself in their minds, His life flowed 
through their fives. In rich measure they fulfilled His 
word: " By this shall all men know that ye are my dis- 
ciples, if ye have love one to another" (John 13:35). A 
new commandment He had given them, namely, that they 
love one another, as He had loved them (John 13 : 34) ; 
and this meant self-denial and sacrifice (John 6 : 38; Rom. 15: 
3; Eph. 5:2; Matt. 16 : 24; Luke 14 : 27 et a^.), and included 
all men — foes as well as friends (Luke 23 : 34; Matt. 5: 
44, 45), those that had done them e\dl, as well as those that 
had done them good (Matt. 5:46, 47; Rom. 12:20), the 
poor and lowly, as well as the rich and favored (Rom. 12: 
16; James 2 : i-io). 

Here was a new principle, a principle to which Heathenism 
was a stranger, and which even Judaism with its legalistic 
spirit failed to understand. " The world before Christ came 
was a world without love." ^ Especially did the charity of 

» Uhlhorn. 



IN THE EARLY CHURCH 35 

post-exilian Judaism lack universality and freedom, and, 
confining itself within the narrow limits of nationality and 
legal requirement, become something done only for the sake 
of reward; while in the writings of pagan authors we find 
such expressions as these: " He does the beggar but a bad 
service who gives him meat and drink; for what he gives is 
lost, and the life of the poor is but prolonged to their own 
misery."^ " Canst thou by any means condescend so far 
as that the poor shall not appear unto thee loathsome?"^ 
" Of everything praiseworthy, the generous man takes as 
his own share the best."^ Plato contends that all beggars 
should be driven out; that no one should interest himself 
in the poor when they are sick; and that when the constitu- 
tion of a laboring man cannot withstand sickness, he is good 
only as a subject for experiments. Though here and there 
in the writings of the heathen philosophers noble sentiments 
are also expressed; * and though the State extended aid to the 
poor in the free distribution of corn, bread, etc., and those 
who belonged to the numerous guilds received regular bene- 
fits, we yet nowhere find pure and genuine charity. The 
State often gave only to prevent the revolutionary uprising 
of the populace; the gifts bestowed by rulers were frequently 
intended only to hide and further ambitious designs; and the 
benefits conferred by the guilds and societies were shared 
only by the members. Thus all was characterized by an 
intense selfishness, a supreme egoism. 

No wonder that in contrast with this the heathen were 
impressed when they saw the charity (love) of the Christians, 
which '* seeketh not her own." In the parent congregation 
at Jerusalem this at fiirst manifested itself in a voluntary 
community of goods (Acts 2 : 44, 45; 4 : 32, 34, 35), a pro- 

» PLAUTUS. 2 QUINTILIAN. 3 ARISTOTLE. 

* Thus Seneca: "It belongs to beneficence to give willingly to any one 
whom I esteem worthy, and to reap joy as the reward of my good deed." 
"Kindness persisted in subdues at last even the wicked." "I will therefore 
not weary, but will go on the more diligently, as a good husbandm.an con- 
quers the barrenness of his land by a double sowing of seed." "It is not the 
sign of a noble spirit to give and to lose, but it is the sign of a noble spirit to 
lose and still to give." 



36 PRELIMINARY HISTORY OF THE INNER MISSION 

cedure which naturally became impracticable when Chris- 
tianity spread over the whole of Palestine and to other 
countries. This was, however, " not an external community 
of goods, as communism imagines, but such a compensation 
of all inequalities as the free spirit of love could alone effect."^ 
The Church bore the character of an enlarged family. Just 
as the adult members of a family would use their separate 
possessions to help one another in their individual needs, so 
it was then; and as the communal life of the family find^ 
its fullest expression in the common meals, so the Agapce, 
or love feasts, with which the administration of the Lord's 
Supper was connected, formed the center of the life of the 
Jerusalem congregation. When, at a later period, this same 
congregation needed help the Gentile Christians manifested 
their love by making liberal collections for it (Rom. 15 : 25, 
26; I Cor. 16 : 1-4). 

At first the free-will offerings were brought to the apostles 
and were dispensed by them (Acts 4 : 34, 35); but the large 
accessions to the body of believers soon made a distribution 
of functions necessary. The murmuring of the Grecians 
against the Hebrews " because their widows were neglected 
in the daily ministration " (Acts 6:1) finrnished the occasion 
for the institution of a new office to which the apostles com- 
mitted the distribution of the alms, while they henceforth 
gave themselves " continually to prayer and to the ministry 
of the Word" (Acts 6:8). This was the beginning of the 
New Testament diaconate, to which women were also sub- 
sequently admitted (pp. 86-90). This new office was, 
however, not meant to relieve individual Christians of the 
exercise of charity. This must remain a duty of every 
Christian, no matter how much may be done by the appointed 
officials and the organized activities of the Church. 

In the post-apostolic Church until about the time of 
Constantine Christian charity assumed an organized form 
and became in the best sense Gemeindepflege, i. e., a congrega- 
tion as such took care of its needy, deacons, deaconesses, and 

» LuTHARDT : The Church, p. 74. 



IN THE EARLY CHURCH 37 

godly women of the congregation being employed in the 
service under the direction and oversight of the bishop 
(presbyter or pastor). Of institutions of mercy there could 
yet be no thought, inasmuch as it was a period of persecu- 
tion. Nor were they needed. Christians were still in the 
flush of their first love. They were ready and willing to 
give and sacrifice and be sacrificed, and regarded no personal 
service of love and mercy too great to render. And as long 
as the houses of Christians everywhere stood open for the 
care of needy brethren and the entertainment of strangers, 
so long institutions of mercy were not required. 

There were two forms of giving, the one observed at the 
morning worship, the other at the celebration of the Lord's 
Supper. For the former a box stood in the place of meeting, 
in which was placed every week a free-will offering for the 
poor. The other and usual form of giving was that of the 
oblations, or offerings at the Lord's Supper, brought by the 
communicants. These offerings consisted chiefly of natural 
products. Sufficient bread and wine was reserved for the 
Communion, and the remainder was set aside for the support 
of the clergy and the poor. Offerings were also often made 
on special and joyful occasions, like the day of baptism. 
What was in these several ways brought together by the 
Church was at once expended. Reputable widows, for 
whose maintenance Paul gave special directions (i Tim. 5: 
3-16), were cared for during life, and these in turn again 
served the Church in various capacities. " Destitute 
orphans were reared by widows or deaconesses under the 
supervision of the bishop. The boys learned a trade, and 
when grown up received the tools necessary for its prosecu- 
tion. The girls, unless they joined the number of those who 
remained unmarried (the deaconesses, for instance), were 
married each to some Christian brother. Often children 
who had been abandoned by the heathen — and the number 
of such was large — were received and given a Christian 
education together with the orphans. Even slaves were 
also accepted, their freedom purchased with the church 



38 PRELIMINARY HISTORY OF THE INNER MISSION 

funds, and help afforded them to earn a living. Or, where 
captives had fallen into the hands of the barbarians, a ransom 
was paid for their liberation. Those who had been im- 
prisoned on account of their faith needed special care. They 
were visited in their prisons and provided for as far as pos- 
sible."^ Concerning the treatment of slaves Uhlhom says 
further : " No less did Christianity transform the relation 
between masters and servants. . . . They looked upon each 
other now as brethren, as Paul writes to Philemon of the 
slave Onesimus, ' that thou shouldest receive him, not now 
as a servant, but above a servant, a brother beloved.' As 
members of the Church there was no difference between 
them. They came to the same house of God, acknowledged 
one Lord, prayed and sang together, ate of the same bread, 
and drank from the same cup. . . . The Church, it is true, 
would not receive a slave without a certificate of good con- 
duct from his Christian master, but when this condition was 
complied with he became a full member without any limita- 
tions. He was even eligible to its offices, not excepting that 
of bishop. Not infrequently it occurred that a slave was an 
elder in the same church of which his master was only a 
member."^ 

Nor did a congregation confine its charitable work only 
to itself. Collections were also made for the suffering 
elsewhere. We have already seen how the Gentile Christians 
aided the needy congregation at Jerusalem. In his Second 
Epistle to the Corinthians Paul devotes two entire chapters 
(8th and 9th) to the subject of contributing to the necessities 
of the saints. Eusebius informs us that in A. D. 150 the 
church at Rome sent rich gifts into the provinces to alleviate 
the miseries of a famine. " An active benevolence," says 
Uhlhorn again, " extended its net over the whole empire, 
and wherever a Christian went, even to the borders of bar- 
barous tribes, and beyond these too, he knew that he was 

' Uhliiorn: The Conflict of Chrisiianity with Ifcathcnism, p. 202. See 
also Justin Martyr's I'irst Apology, Antc-Niccne Fathers, Amer. ed. Vol. i, 
ch. Ixvii, p. 186. 

2 Conflict, pp. 185, 186. 



IN THE EARLY CHURCH 39 

near to brethren who were ready at any time to minister to 
his need." ^ '' The churches of the first two and a half 
centuries may be regarded as so many compact organiza- 
tions for charitable work. Its oversight being entrusted 
to the bishops, there was an immediateness and directness 
of relief which otherwise were not possible. The close 
affiliations of the bishops with each other, and the system 
of circular letters which had been adopted, enabled the entire 
Chmrch to concentrate its gifts upon a single locaUty which 
had been visited with sudden or peculiar distress. More- 
over, the association of the bishop with sub-helpers, as 
elders, deacons, the widows and the deaconesses, allowed 
of faithful and minute supervision, and of a consequent 
wise and economical administration of the charities."^ 

And still more than this. The benevolence of the Chris- 
tians also reached the heathen. When, for instance, in 
times of great pestilence (Carthage, Alexandria) the heathen 
abandoned their sick, and cast the dying and dead out into 
the streets, the Christians cared tenderly for those still 
living and buried the dead. Such deeds of mercy were com- 
mon in all the departments of charitable activity, and that 
too " immediately after the Christians had been most hor- 
ribly persecuted, and while the sword still hung daily over 
their heads." ^ 

And in the labor of love — in giving and doing — all took 
part according to their abilities and opportunities, even 
though the Church also had her special organs for it. The 
love which originally inspired the Christians continued 
to manifest itself with unabated warmth and vigor beyond 
the apostolic age. Both Jewish and Gentile Christians 
gave freely and labored self-denyingly because they realized 
in fullest measure from what bondage of legalism on the one 
hand, and of corruption on the other, they had been delivered. 
They loved much because much had been forgiven and given 
them. 

1 Conflict, p. 203. 

2 Bennett: Christian Archeology, p. 494. * Conflict, p. 205. 



40 PRELIMINARY HISTORY OF THE INNER MISSION 

But with all her diffuse liberality the Early Church prac- 
tised benevolence with a wisdom that modern charitable 
organizations are in many cases just beginning to learn. 
Her charity was not indiscriminate and did not tend to 
pauperize. She obeyed the injmiction of Paul: "This 
we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither 
should he eat," and withdrew from such, as he directed 
(2 Thess. 3 : 6-10). The thoroughness of her organiza- 
tion and administration afforded the best possible guarantee 
against abuses. " First, accurate Hsts were kept of those 
who received stated assistance, so that immediate and thor- 
ough inspection was possible. Second, the aid afforded 
was usually of the necessaries of life. Third, the support 
of such as had abandoned a trade, or otherwise suffered 
peculiar hardship for the sake of Christ, was of a simple 
and inexpensive nature, thus reducing to a minimum the 
temptation to deception and fraud. Fourth, the special 
pains to have orphans of Christian parents adopted by 
childless couples, and trained in habits of industry, was a 
most beneficent provision which kept alive the spirit of purest 
charity, and most effectually guarded against the increase 
of pauperism. Fifth, the solemn charge to bishops that they 
be soHcitous to aid the truly needy, but at the same time 
do all in their power to place everybody, so far as possible, 
in a condition of self-help." ^ All these, and other particulars 
that we learn from the Apostolic Constitutions, go to show 
that the practice of charity in the Early Church had a soHd 
Scriptural foundation; and that where similar principles 
are put in effect to-day it is merely a return to the old. 

Thus the work of mercy continued to be administered 
hy and through the congregations down to the close of the 
third century. Deacons, deaconesses, volunteers, and Chris- 
tians in general all did their duty, following faithfully the 
admonitions and directions of their presbyters and bishops. 
And here we find the pattern for much of the work which 
churches of to-day ought to do; and when once the needs of 
» Bennett: Christian Archaology, p. 495- 



IN THE EARLY CHURCH 4I 

to-day are met by them as were the needs of those days, then 
may we also look for like results. 

Among those who durmg this early period were espe- 
cially distinguished for their benevolence were Cyprian, 
bishop of Carthage, and Laurentius, deacon at Rome, both 
of whom suffered martyrdom in 258. Immediately after 
his conversion, C3^rian, who was a man of wealth, gave part 
of his fortune to the poor. During the Decian persecution, 
when he was already bishop, he did the same. And when 
many Christians were made prisoners of war in Numidia, 
and the bishops of that country applied to him for help, 
he ordered a collection in his congregation for their ransom, 
which jdelded a large sum. Of Laurentius it is said that 
when the treasures of his church were demanded from him, 
he brought forward the sick, the poor, and the orphaned of 
his congregation and said: " These are my treasures." 



A. D. 300 TO 600 

In the period lying between A. D. 300 and 600 many 
changes took place. A marked distinction now began to be 
made betv/een ciergy and laity, preaching was almost entirely 
restricted to the former, and the administration of the Church's 
charities took on a greatly altered form. The cessation of 
persecution, the adoption of Christianity as the rehgion of 
the Empire, the influx of the masses into the Church, who 
too often sought her only for the sake of temporal advantage, 
and who, while themselves strongly influenced by the Church, 
in turn also influenced her — these are the characteristic 
features of this period. 

It was only natural that the powerful changes induced 
by these features should also affect the charities of the Church 
to a marked degree. In place of comparatively small num- 
bers, the Church now had the care of multitudes on her hands. 
The more she became a power in the Hfe of the people, the 
more they turned to her for help in all manner of needs. 
Especially great were the demands entailed by the constantly 



42 PRELIMINARY HISTORY OF THE INNER MISSION 

increasing poverty of the masses, for which a multitude of 
causes in the decaying Empire were responsible. To meet 
new and gromng demands it became necessary for the Church 
to adapt herself to the changed conditions. This she did 
in part by reconstructing congregational methods, and in part 
by establishing institutions of mercy; and it is a special char- 
acteristic of this period that for the first time in the Church's 
history congregational and institutional charity are found 
side by side. 

Congregational methods were now adapted to meet larger 
needs. The latter made larger contributions necessary. 
Nor were these wanting. Gifts, legacies, and endowments 
flowed into the coffers of the Church in rich profusion. 
Unfortunately, however, it was no longer always the simple 
love of Christ that inspired benevolence, and made it a 
blessed service which each believer delighted to render for 
His sake, without hope of reward, as was the case in the 
martyr period. The doctrine of merit by good works was 
already gaining strength; the simple congregational epis- 
copate was rapidly giving way to the more formal and stately 
diocesan government; a special priesthood, with functions 
of peculiar sanctity, was beginning to take the place of the 
priesthood of all believers, and all this " tended to tarnish 
the charities of the Church, ... to confound pure charity 
with a kind of perfunctory service which was delegated to 
chosen officials who must deal with masses rather than with 
individual sufferers."^ How impossible it was at this time 
to individualize work may be seen in the case of the congre- 
gation at Constantinople, which numbered 100,000 souls. 
Though one hundred deacons and forty deaconesses were at 
work in it, what were these among so many? 

To aid congregations in the general work institutions were 
also established, and from the last half of the fourth to the 
sixth century multiplied rapidly in number. They were 
of two kinds: monasteries and hospitals. The former were 
places of refuge for the needy of almost every class, but 

> Bennett: Christian Archeology, p. 498. 



IN THE EARLY CHURCH 43 

especially for the poor; the latter at first opened their doors 
not only to the sick, but also to the poor, to widows and 
orphans, to homeless strangers, etc. 

Among those who during this period were most active in 
the work of mercy, by word and act, preaching, giving, 
founding institutions and the like, may be mentioned 
Ephraim, the most celebrated poet, exegete, and preacher of 
the national Syrian Church, who founded a hospital at 
Edessa; Basil the Great, bishop of Cassarea, who devoted all 
his property to the poor, and established the great colony 
of mercy at Caesarea; Chrysostom, who ministered to the 
large congregation at Constantinople, erected two hospitals, 
and daily maintained 7700 poor people; the noble deaconess 
Olympias,* the friend of Chrysostom; Ambrose, bishop of 
Milan; Augustine, bishop of Hippo Regius; Jerome; and 
Gregory the Great, bishop of Rome. 

In spite of the extraordinary efforts made by the Church 
to cope with the growing needs of this period, and much as 
she did to alleviate them, she yet did not succeed in overcom- 
ing them. This was no doubt in very great measure due to 
the adverse conditions produced by the rapid decay of 
Grseco-Roman civilization, but the Church herself was in 
part to blame. She departed from her earlier practice and 
committed the fatal mistake, against which all charity 
workers must constantly be on their guard to-day, namely, 
that of extending aid indiscriminately to all who asked, 
without investigation, and altogether forgetful of the apos- 
toUc injunction that he that will not work, when he can, 
should not eat. This is the mistake that is always made 
where charity work is not, and cannot, be individualized; 

1 Left a rich and beautiful widow at eighteen, the Emperor Theodosius 
insisted on marrying her to a relative of his. This she refused to do, and 
became a deaconess. The Emperor thereupon deprived her of her property, 
for which she only thanked him, inasmuch as it relieved her of many cares and 
anxieties. When the Emperor found that he could not move her, he restored 
her property, which she now devoted entirely to the work of mercy with the 
most liberal hand, in which service she was guided by the pastoral advice of 
Chrysostom. When the latter was banished she continued her good work at 
Constantinople, and was in constant correspondence with the exiled bishop. 
She died in 420. 



44 PRELIMINARY HISTORY OF THE INNER MISSION 

and where it is made, the inevitable result is that idleness and 
mendicancy are encouraged, and paupers are manufactured 
by wholesale. 

B. In the Mediaeval Church 

A. D. 600 TO 1500 

During the Middle Ages the dearth of preaching by the 
clergy no less than the growing corruption in doctrine and 
life became responsible for the revival here and there of lay 
preaching. In France, Peter Waldus, of Lyons, and his 
followers — still known as the Waldenses — began to preach in 
the streets, in houses, and even in the churches of their 
native city. When they were finally expelled they traveled 
two by two over the southern part of France, penetrated 
into Switzerland and northern Italy, and preached as they 
went. In England Wiclif sent out lay preachers who, going 
from place to place, opened the Scriptures which their leader 
had translated wherever they found hearers. In Italy 
it was St. Francis of Assisi who, as a layman, became famous 
as a preacher, and who founded the order of preaching 
monks which bears his name. 

In the domain of benevolence it is the special characteristic 
of this period that congregational charity as such ceased 
entirely, and all benevolent work came to be done through 
the medium of innumerable institutions and orders that 
sprang up within the Church. The Church with her insti- 
tutions and orders stood between the giver and the recipient. 
The Church took and the Church gave. Congregational 
and individual benevolence had become a thing of the past. 
Retirement from the world was looked upon as the only way 
in which to reach a high standard of Christian living, yet 
" too frequently the cloisters became the seats of dissolute- 
ness, debauchery, idleness, crimes, and unnatural vices,"* 
especially so towards the close of this period. The diaconatc 

» Kurtz: Church History. American cd. Vol. i, p. 472. 



IN THE MEDIEVAL CHURCH 45 

ceased to be a ministry of mercy — the deacons becoming 
a sub-order of the clergy to serve at the altar, the deaconesses 
turning into nuns. The doctrine of merit by good works was 
now fully established and became the chief impelling motive 
in the work of mercy. The possession of property was re- 
garded as an incumbrance and temptation, and its devotion 
to the Church as a work of extraordinary sanctity on the part 
of the giver. To beg was looked upon as a virtue, inasmuch 
as it afforded an opportunity to bestow alms as a work of 
expiation. Thus charity became essentially selfish and 
degenerated into almsgiving for the benefit of the one who 
gave. The result, on the one hand, was a most marvelous 
growth in the number and wealth of institutions and 
orders, and, on the other, a constantly growing army of 
mendicants. 

Every monastery now had a hospital, but not in the modern 
sense. This consisted of an infirmary for the monks, nuns, 
and other inmates of the cloister, in which these were nursed 
when sick, and from which a certain amount of relief for the 
sick went out into the neighborhood; a hospice for the enter- 
tainment of the better class of travelers and strangers, such as 
priests, monks, messengers, etc. ; and the hospitale pauperum, 
or shelter for the poor, in which paupers and needy ones of 
every kind found relief. For lepers there were special 
hospitals, leprosy having been introduced into Europe and 
widely disseminated through the Crusades; and the number 
of such hospitals it is said at one time reached 19,000. When 
toward the close of the Middle Ages a reaction set in against 
the abuses which had grown up, numerous municipal hospi- 
tals also began to be established, altogether disassociated 
from Church control. 

Hospitallers, or Hospital Brethren, " is the common name 
of all those associations of laymen, monks, canons, and 
knights which devoted themselves to nursing the sick and the 
poor in the hospitals, while at the same time observing certain 
monastic practices."^ Some of these orders, like the Ejiights 

1 Schaff-Herzog : Encyclopcedia. First ed. Vol. ii, p. 1025. 



46 PRELIMINARY HISTORY OF THE INNER MISSION 

of St. John and the Teutonic Knights, combined the pro- 
fession of monasticism with knighthood, and originated with 
the Crusades. " There were also hospital sisters; and the 
female associations originating in the twelfth century 
achieved a still greater success than the male ones. They 
imited to the duty of nursing the sick and the poor also that 
of educating young girls, especially orphans, and rescuing 
fallen women." ^ The Beghards and Beguines and the 
Brethren and Sisters of the Common Life were associations 
or communities the members of v/hich were not under any 
monastic constraint, but who voluntarily agreed to retire 
from the world that they might devote themselves more fully 
to their own spiritual advancement and to labors of Christian 
love. It was a special characteristic of the Brethren and 
Sisters of the Common Life that they condemned begging, 
placed a high estimate on work, and concerned themselves 
about the spiritual as well as the temporal well-being of those 
to whom they ministered. Of individuals who during the 
Middle Ages by precept and example greatly encouraged and 
aided the work of mercy should be mentioned the Emperor 
Charlemagne (742-814); St. Francis of Assisi (1182-1226); 
and St. EUzabeth (i 207-1 231), the wife of Ludwig, Land- 
grave of Thuringia. 

Through her many institutions and orders the Church 
of the Middle Ages unquestionably relieved a vast amount 
of human misery, in many cases too with a measure of self- 
sacrifice that must call forth our admiration. But the same 
ecclesiastical influence that originated these agencies and 
made them great was also responsible for their degeneration. 
Besides the change in motives growing out of increasing 
corruption in doctrine, the Church had totally lost the finely 
devised congregational system of dispensing charity to 
which the Christians of the first centuries were accustomed. 
Institutions and orders were now the almoners, but in a 
detached and indiscriminate way, without coordination and 
investigation. And as they became richer and more worldly 
« Schaff-Herzog : Encyclopadia. First ed. Vol. ii, p. 1025. 



IN THE REFORMATION ERA AND BEYOND 47 

they also became increasingly powerless to deal intelligently 
and effectively with a problem whose solution requires the 
largest measure of sanctified wisdom. 

C. In the Reformation Era and Beyond 

In accordance with its formal principle that the Holy 
Scriptures are the only infallible source and rule of faith and 
practice, the Reformation again assigned to preaching, 
which during the Middle Ages had occupied a very subordin- 
ate place in public worship, the place, importance, and func- 
tion that it had in the Early Church. " Infinitely much 
did the Reformation owe to the preaching of the Gospel; 
without this it would never have been begun, or if begun, 
not have been carried to completion." ^ 

Luther himself was the great preacher of the Reformation. 
His preaching " introduced and long gave a tone to a new 
era, while at the same time it kindled new light and life in 
the souls of individuals, and poured into the minds of the 
desponding the consolations of Divine grace." - Luther had 
learned from the Scriptures and experienced in his own heart 
that man is saved by grace, through faith, solely on the ground 
of the all-sufficient merits of Christ; and that the sinner in 
seeking salvation through Christ, and union with Him, can 
have direct access to the throne of grace, without priestly and 
saintly intercession. To set forth these great fundamental 
truths of the Gospel was in his mind the chief business of the 
Church's ministry. Nor was only the ministry to do so. 
That the laity might read and learn for themselves he gave 
them the Bible in the vernacular. That they might further- 
more have a handy and simple compendium of Scripture 
truth he prepared his Small Catechism. And that no one 
might remain ignorant of the truth which saves, he was will- 
ing under very extraordinary circumstances even to permit a 
layman to preach (p. 114). 

1 Van Oosterzee: Practical Theology, p. 114. 

2 LuTHARDT : The Saving Truths of Christianity, p. 269. 



48 PRELIMINARY HISTORY OF THE INNER MISSION 

We have already seen that with the corruption in doctrine 
during the Middle Ages had also come a corresponding 
degeneration in the work of mercy. The very foundation 
upon which it rested had become a false one. Righteousness 
by works was its chief inspiration. Its exercise had become 
a business for personal spiritual advantage; gifts to the 
Church for charitable purposes were " merely a method of 
securing a satisfactory balance on the books of the recording 
angel, a way of getting out of purgatory or of getting others 
out";^ and the huge funds thus given and bestowed, instead 
of substantially improving conditions, only helped to foster 
indolence, imposture, and pauperism. 

As in matters of faith, so in the domain of mercy, the 
Reformers, therefore, found it necessary to lay a new founda- 
tion; and that foundation was none other than the old one — 
the New Testament doctrine of justification by faith. Men 
had to be taught again that faith is the appropriation of the 
merit of Christ; that only such faith saves; that genuine 
brotherly love is found only where this faith is found; that 
all good works are but the fruit of this faith and not in them- 
selves meritorious; that poverty does not commend one to 
God; that begging is not a virtue; and that Christian service 
does not consist in retirement from the world, but in being 
faithful stewards of the manifold gifts of God in whatever 
station of hfe one may find himself. 

For the practical application of these principles many of 
the Church Orders gave special directions. To do away as 
much as possible with begging and indiscriminate giving 
they provided that all gifts, legacies, offerings, etc., for 
benevolent purposes were to flow into a common treasury, 
to be jointly administered by the ecclesiastical and civil 
authorities. In accordance with Acts 6 those chosen to do 
so were to be men " of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost 
and wisdom " — chiefly laymen, who were to meet regularly, 
investigate carefully, and extend aid only where actually 
needed. Parents who sent their children out to beg were 

' Warner: American Charities, p. 8. 



IN THE REFORMATION ERA AND BEYOND 49 

to be punished, orphans and neglected children were to be 
cared for, the sick in hospitals and infirmaries visited, the 
poor relieved as long as necessary, and various other chari- 
table offices performed.^ Thus an effort was made to return 
again, to an extent at least, to the practice of the Early- 
Church, or, in other words, to restore Gemeindepflege (p. 36). 
But pure congregational charity in its primitive sense could 
not again be fully reaUzed, owing partly to the fact that in 
the administration of charity, as in other things, the func- 
tions of Church and State were not strictly kept apart; 
and perhaps still more because properly qualified persons for 
such work could not always be had. Luther himself greatly 
desired the restoration of the primitive diaconate as a ministry 
of mercy and the helping hand of the pastoral office. " It 
were well," he said, "if we had the right kind of people to 
begin with, to divide a city into four or five districts, and to 
assign to each district a pastor and several deacons, who 
would supply it with preaching, distribute alms, visit the 
sick, and see to it that no one suffered want. But we do not 
have the persons for it. I therefore fear to undertake it 
until our Lord God shall make Christians." Here there was 
a want which only the last century began to supply (pp. 
91-97). Meanwhile the administration of charity passed 
largely into the hands of the State. 

It was different in the Reformed churches of France, the 
Netherlands, and the Lower Rhine. These established a 
well-organized parish diaconate, and employed deacons and 
deaconesses in numerous forms of charitable work. In the 
Roman Catholic Church Vincent de Paul (1576-1660) in 
1634 founded the now extensive and active order of Sisters 
of Charity. These are not nuns. After a novitiate of five 
years they take a vow which binds them only for a year, and 
is annually renewed. The spirit of their remarkably liberal 
discipline is indicated in the words of the founder: " Your 
convent must be the house of the sick; your cell, the chamber 

1 As an illustration see the Wiirttemberger Kastenordnung of 1536, in RiCH- 
ter: Die Evangelischen Kirchenordnungen. Vol. i, p. 261. 



50 PRELIMINARY HISTORY OF THE INNER MISSION 

of suffering; your chapel, the parish church; your cloister, 
the streets of the city or the wards of the hospital; your 
rule, the general vow of obedience; your grille, the fear of 
God; your veil, to shut out the world, holy modesty." Vin- 
cent de Paul also established the order of Mission Priests 
(Lazarists), who traveled over the country ministering to 
the souls and bodies of men. 

In the Protestant Church of Germany the first half of the 
seventeenth century was altogether unfavorable to the 
development of even a fair measure of activity in the field 
of practical Christianity. A highly scholastic theology 
had to a great extent externalized religion, and the Thirty 
Years' War had devastated the country not only physically, 
but spiritually and morally as well. A change came -^dth the 
rise of Pietism. Its leaders, Philip Jacob Spener (1635- 
1705) and August Hermann Francke (1663-1727), while 
professing entire harmony with the doctrines maintained 
in the Lutheran Confessions, insisted on more than a mere 
intellectual apprehension of these as a correct exhibit of 
revealed truth. They would have these doctrines so 
received and applied as to result in genuine piety. As 
the Reformation protested against Romish extemalism and 
self-righteousness, restored the life-giving Gospel, and re- 
vived again the thought of an active, participating congre- 
gation of li^vdng believers, so the movement promoted by 
Spener and Francke was the reaction against ossified or- 
thodoxy and a lifeless acceptance of Gospel truth, and laid 
special stress on the spiritual renewal of the individual. 
The latter, however, in the end proved to be the weakness 
of Pietism. While the design in the beginning was to revive 
an entire congregation by rexiving its component parts — 
an undertaking which, if consistently carried out, could only 
have resulted in the highest good, the later Pietism, as it 
became increasingly subjective and exclusive, completely 
lost sight of the congregation and the Church as such, gath- 
ered its adherents together for worship and the study of the 
Scriptures in small private assemblies (conventicles), grew 



IN THE REFORMATION ERA AND BEYOND 5 1 

indifferent towards purity of doctrine, and fell into many- 
extravagances both in speech and life. Thus Pietism in the 
end fostered narrowness and spiritual pride, became a 
nursery of fanaticism and sectarianism, failed to affect the 
Church and society as a whole, and by its intense subjectivism 
prepared the way for Rationalism. 

And yet in its earlier and purer form it revived and set 
in motion forces that even Rationalism could not destroy, 
and that make themselves felt the world over to this very 
day. It emphasized the necessity of a Hving faith, labored to 
promote personal piety, laid renewed stress on the doctrine 
of the universal priesthood of believers, and demanded that 
all who call themselves the children of God should manifest 
their faith by their love. It was this " faith which worketh 
by love " that gave birth to the Francke Institutions at 
Halle (p. 146), and made these a center of manifold and 
widespread Christian activities. " The students, teachers, 
and inspectors from these schools, as well as those who 
attended the imiversity, proceeded from Halle in all direc- 
tions, to diffuse the spirit they had acquired there. In 1705 
Ziegenbalg and Pliitschau went forth as the pioneer mis- 
sionaries to India, to be followed by others from Halle, 
greatest of whom were Schultze and Christian Frederick 
Schwartz (i 726-1 798). Callenberg became active in efforts 
to convert the Jews and Mohammedans. Zinzendorf in- 
spired the Moravians with the zeal which was enkindled at 
Halle, in which he was ably supported by Bishop Spangen- 
berg, also from Halle. Encouraged by Francke, his friend, 
Baron von Canstein, founded his Bible Institution at Halle 
in 1 71 2, the forerunner by nearly a century of the Bible 
societies of later times. Halle sent its alumni to England, 
who, as pastors in the Royal Chapel and other Lutheran 
churches, exerted a wide influence upon the House of Hanover, 
that had succeeded to the English throne, and were promi- 
nent agents in many important Christian enterprises. From 
Halle, Boltzius and Gronau went to Georgia, and Muhlen- 
berg, with a large nimiber who followed him, to Pennsylvania. 



52 PRELIMINARY HISTORY OF THE INNER MISSION 

From the printing establishment in the Halle institutions 
were issued those full reports of the missions, both in India 
and in America, so highly prized, even to-day, for their full 
accounts of the humble efforts made by heroic men to carry 
the knowledge of God to the ends of the earth." ^ 

To Baron von Canstein (1667-1719), mentioned above, 
belongs the credit of first having devised a plan for supply- 
ing the poor with the Scriptures at a nominal price. In 
Berlin he became acquainted with Spener, whose influence 
on his future life was decisive, and who brought him into' 
intimate relations with Francke and his institutions. In 
1 7 10 he issued a small publication in which he undertook to 
show that by printing from types which were kept standing 
the New Testament could be sold for two groschen (about 
five cents), and the entire Bible for six. To actualize this 
plan he himself provided the capital, partly out of his own 
means and partly by collections. In 17 12 the first edition 
of the New Testament appeared in an issue of 5000 copies, 
and in the following year the entire Bible. Since then the 
Canstein Bible Institution has published and circulated over 
seven million Bibles and New Testaments. 

Pietism had a special fondness for the institutional form 
of work, particularly so with children. The Francke Insti- 
tutions became the embodiment of this idea, and orphans' 
homes patterned after the one at Halle sprang into existence 
in all parts of Germany. But the narrowness which charac- 
terized Pietism in many other respects also made itself felt 
even with children. Though in their instruction much 
attention was given to secular and practical branches, the 
constant introspection to which the children were admon- 
ished, the free prayers they were asked to offer, the unending 
religious exercises in which they were obliged to participate, 
the close supervision to which they were subjected, and the 
want of innocent recreation, all tended to produce an un- 
healthy, hot-house species of piety. Thus Francke, in his 
concern for the spiritual welfare of his orphans, would not 

> Jacobs: American Church History Scries. Vol. iv, pp. 13S, 139. 



IN THE REFORMATION ERA AND BEYOND 53 

even permit them to play ball; and at their one so-called 
" recreation hour " a week, a few hymns were sung, prayer 
was offered, the Gospel or Epistle for the following Sunday 
was explained, and in conclusion the children were treated 
to rolls and fruit! But, as we shall see later, such a miscon- 
ception of the child-nature and its requirements was soon 
bound to give way to a better understanding and more in- 
telligent methods. 

Whatever other forces Pietism in its purest form may have 
started, it can nevertheless hardly be regarded as the real 
source of the Inner Mission of the last century, as is some- 
times claimed. For this contention Wurster assigns the fol- 
lowing reasons:^ 

1. Pietism had a one-sided, false, ascetic conception of 
the relation between Christianity and the world. In its genuine 
form it regarded civil and political life, art, and the like as 
spheres in which those who would be truly godly can have no 
interest, inasmuch as contact with them is calculated to 
hinder rather than to promote piety. Such one-sidedness 
could not fail to make its unfavorable influence felt, espe- 
cially so in the work of education (Erziehungsthatigkeit) ^ 
and thus retard the development of a system of popular 
education on a Christian basis. 

2. In proportion as it made private edification in small 
circles and personal certitude of salvation its aim, it failed 
to regard the entire Christian congregation as the object and 
still more as the subject of love's labors. The circles which 
supported the charitable work of Pietism were too narrow. 

3. The chief thought of Pietism was the ecclesiola in 
ecclesia, not the Church of the populace, the coetus vocatorum. 
The conversion of the individual was the purpose of Francke's 
methods; and though Spener, through his collegia pietatisy 
aimed to vitalize the congregation and the community at 
large, the movement nevertheless remained confined to the 
conventicle system. 

1 Die Lehre von der Inneren Mission, pp. 18, 19. 



54 THE INNER MISSION IN ITS MODERN FORM 

II. THE INNER MISSION IN ITS MODERN FORM 

A. Its Immediate Antecedents 

The beginnings of the Inner Mission movement in its 
modern form may be traced to the latter part of the eight- 
eenth and the first part of the nineteenth centuries. The 
condition of Germany during this period was deplorable in 
the extreme. PoUtically it was a dismembered country; 
economically it had been desolated by the Napoleonic wars 
which everywhere left physical misery and destitution in 
their wake; socially it was beginning to undergo those changes 
for the worse which the rapid accumulation and congestion 
of population in the cities is always sure to bring about; 
while religiously all classes felt the influence of the then 
dominant Rationalism. Nevertheless here and there were 
found those who still cherished the old faith, and who gave 
evidence of its transforming power in their lives. To bring 
these into union of effort against the reigning unbelief, and 
to provide an agency for combating ills with which society and 
the Church as then constituted found themselves unable to 
cope — this was the thought in the mind of Johann August 
Urlsperger (Nov. 25, 1728-Dec. i, 1806), pastor at Augs- 
burg. Relinquishing his pastorate in 1 776, and first traveling 
over England, Holland, Germany and Switzerland in the in- 
terest of a common movement, he effected the organization of 
the Society for the Promotion of Pure Doctrine and Genuine 
Piety at Basel, in 1780, later known as the Christianity 
Society. This was patterned after the Society for Promoting 
Christian Knowledge (1698) in England, and a similar society 
in Sweden. Branch societies were formed in various centers, 
and in 1784 a periodical was begun {Sammlungcn fiir Lich- 
haher christlicher Wahrheit mid Gottscligkeit), which be- 
came the organ of the society. Though it was Urlspcrger's 
original intention by means of lectures, publications, etc., 
of an apologetic character to make the society chiefly a 



ITS IMMEDIATE ANTECEDENTS 55 

defender of the faith, it gradually turned its efforts more 
towards missionary and philanthropic work. Out of it grew 
the Basel Bible Society (1804), the Basel Missionary Society 
(181 5), the institution for neglected children at Beuggen 
(1820), the deaf and dimib asylum at Riehen (1838), and 
other enterprises in and about Basel, in the creation of 
which Christian Friedrich Spittler (April 12, 1782-Dec. 
8, 1867), for many years secretary of the society, was espe- 
cially active. 

About this time other movements also began to take shape. 
To combat Rationalism and nourish faith, provision was 
made to give the printed Word the widest possible circula- 
tion, and in addition to the already existing Canstein Bible 
Institution and the Basel Society, a whole series of Bible 
societies was organized, all of which have been active ever 
since. Thus the Wiirttemberg, 181 2; Prussian, 1814; Saxon, 
1814; Bergische, 1815; Schleswig-Holstein, 1815 — until 1830 
a total of 31. 

Following the example of England, tract societies for the 
dissemination of Christian literature in cheap, popular form 
were founded. From 1811 to 1833 five such came into ex- 
istence (North German, 1811; Wupperthal, 1814; Prussian, 
1814; Lower Saxon, 1820; Calwer, 1833), to which have since 
been added other agencies having the same object in \-iew. 

During this period work in behalf of neglected, dependent 
and delinquent children also began to receive considerable 
attention (pp. 144, 167); the Kleinkinderschule (p. 136) 
had its inception; the work of diaspora missions had its first 
representative; new experiments in poor rehef were attempted; 
the first great improvements in the treatment and care of 
prisoners and discharged convicts were made; the sick and 
defective awakened more sympathetic interest; the city 
mission was instituted; and lay preaching here and there 
again came into vogue. 

Among those who, besides Urlsperger and Spittler, 
figured conspicuously in these different forms of work were 
the following: 



56 THE INNER MISSION IN ITS MODERN FORM 

JoHANN Tobias Kiessling (Nov. 3, 1743-Feb. 27, 1824), 
a merchant of Nuremberg. Twice a year during half a 
century he was obhged to make business trips into Austria. 
Here he learned to know the spiritual destitution of his 
brethren in the faith, scattered as they were among Roman 
CathoUcs; and he determined to relieve them to the extent 
of his ability. On his visits he personally ministered to them 
in spiritual things, and during the rest of the year, besides 
contributing liberally himself, he gathered large sums of 
money from his business friends and from his associates in' 
the Christianity Society, with which to build churches, 
school-houses, and parsonages. In addition he was also 
active in securing efficient pastors for the scattered sheep, 
aided Austrian students for the ministry, and made hberal 
donations of Bibles and devotional literature. In all these 
operations he thus became a forerunner of the Gustav- 
Adolf Society (p. 156). 

JoHANN Heinrich Pestalozzi (Jan. 12, 1746-Feb. 17, 
1827), the reformer of modem pedagogy, was the son of a 
physician at Zurich. He first studied theology, then juris- 
prudence, but as neither appealed to him he turned his atten- 
tion to educational and philanthropic work. The former 
brought him eminence; in the latter he failed, having, as he 
himself said, an " incomparable incapacity for organiza- 
tion." In 1775 he opened a species of poor school at Neuhof, 
in which the children maintained themselves by manual 
labor between the hours of instruction. Educationally 
this was a great success, but as the school could not be made 
self-supporting Pestalozzi was obliged to close it in 1780. 
He then devoted himself for eight years to literature, and 
attracted much attention by his writings. In 1798 he made 
another institutional experiment. Into a deserted convent 
at Stanz he gathered eighty children who had been orphaned 
through the French invasion of Switzerland, and who, it is 
said, " after the lapse of a few montlis, looked physically, 
intellectually, and morally as if they had gone through a 
transformation mill." Here Pestalozzi found opportunity 



ITS IMMEDIATE ANTECEDENTS 57 

for the exercise of his intense love. He was everything to 
the children — father, teacher, and servant; but in 1799 
the French put an end to the institution by taking 
possession of the place for hospital purposes. Pestalozzi 
then became a teacher at Burgdorf, and here he opened a 
school of his own in 1800. Five years later he removed it to 
Yverdon on the Lake of Neufchatel, where, during the next 
ten years, it served to establish Pestalozzi's reputation as an 
educator. But his lack of administrative talent, dissensions 
among his teachers, and other causes compelled him to close 
the school in 1825. The great idea which lay at the basis of 
Pestalozzi's method of intellectual instruction was that 
" nothing should be treated of except in a concrete way. 
Objects themselves became in his hands the subject of 
lessons tending to the development of the observing and 
reasoning powers — not lessons about objects." With this 
he sought to combine moral and religious training; but as 
he was a naturalist in religion, though not opposed to Chris- 
tianity, his work in this respect was a failure. When toward 
the close of his life he visited Zeller's institution at Beuggen, 
and there saw what living faith and specifically Christian 
training were accomplishing, he exclaimed: ''This is what 
I wanted to bring about." 

Christian Heinrich Zeller (March 29, 1799-May 18, 
i860), by birth a Wiirttemberger, likewise studied jurispru- 
dence, but became a private tutor, and subsequently a school 
principal and inspector. In 1820 he was called to the super- 
intendency of the newly-established child-saving institution 
at Beuggen, near Basel, where, on his coming, this inscrip- 
tion greeted him: " Welcome, brother; build the institution 
upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus 
Christ Himself being the chief comer stone." This program 
he actualized with distinguished success during the forty 
years he remained with the institution. Though deeply in- 
terested in other departments of Christian work, he esteemed 
it his duty to give himself with unwearied diligence to his 
own particular sphere of labor. And he did so with such 



58 THE INNER MISSION IN ITS MODERN FORM 

genuine simplicity that Professor Auberlen said at his funeral: 
" His greatness consisted in this, that he remained humble." 

JOHANN Friedrich Oberlin (Aug. 31, 1 740- June i, 1826) 
was one of the first to demonstrate how the spiritual and 
temporal welfare of people can be simultaneously promoted. 
In 1767, several years after graduating from the University 
of Strassburg, he was appointed pastor at Waldbach in the 
Steinthal, a barren tract on the borders of Alsace and Lorraine. 
Here he found a densely ignorant and wretchedly poor 
people. He at once set himself to work to improve their 
condition. Besides preaching the Gospel most effectively, 
''he built school-houses, introduced improved methods of 
agriculture, went at the head of the people with spade and 
hoe to build roads and erect bridges, estabhshed stores, 
savings banks, and agricultural associations for the distri- 
bution of prizes, induced the heads of factories to remove to 
the Steinthal, etc. Liberal himself, he was very successful 
in exciting the liberality of others for his enterprises, even 
beyond the limits of his own parish. In the pulpit and as a 
pastor his influence was patriarchal. His sermons were 
distinguished by unbounded sympathy for the needs of his 
hearers, and simplicity." ^ The twofold result of such labors 
was that the Steinthal " began to blossom as the rose," and its 
people were raised from semi-barbarism to a high plane of 
Christian living; nor has its prosperity suffered interruption 
since Oberlin's death. Oberlin was also the originator of the 
Kleinkinderschule (p. 136). 

Johannes Falk (Oct. 28, 1768-Feb. 14, 1826), of Danzig, 
studied theology for a time, then turned to literature, and 
settled at Weimar. Moved by the distress occasioned by the 
Napoleonic wars he founded the Society of Friends in Need, 
and began his "Lutherhof " at Weimar (182 1) for orphaned 
and neglected children. In both undertakings Falk was in- 
spired by genuine missionary zeal. '* We would save souls 
and convert the heathen, not in Asia and Africa, but in our 
own midst," he wrote. And again: " In the pursuit of this 

> Schaff-Herzog : Encyclopcsdiu, ist cd. Vol. iii. 



ITS IMMEDIATE ANTECEDENTS 59 

object we forge all our chains from within." In his dealings 
with children he had no use for locks and bolts. The love 
born of faith was his all-conquering power; and the results 
he achieved were the sufficient justification of this principle. 

Count Adelbert von der Recke-Volmarstein (May 
28, 1 791-N0V. 10, 1878) , likewise deeply moved by the miseries 
which the Napoleonic wars entailed, founded the institution 
for children at Overdyk, Westphalia. When the quarters 
at this place became too contracted, he purchased the Trap- 
pist Monastery Diissethal, near Diisseldorf, whose massive 
buildings and extensive grounds offered superior advantages. 
After twenty-five years of service, during which he was 
faithfully aided by his wife, broken health compelled him to 
retire to his estate in Kraschnitz, where, at the age of seventy, 
he founded the deaconess house, and a large institution for 
the feeble-minded and epileptic. 

Baron von Kottwitz (Sept. 2, 1757-May 13, 1843), bom 
in Silesia, was in his youth a page of Frederick the Great, and 
later an army officer and a man of the world. By association 
with the Moravians he became interested in the things that 
are spiritual and eternal, and thenceforth lived and labored 
for others. In 1806, when there was much distress among the 
laboring classes, he gathered hundreds of men into some 
unused barracks at Berlin, provided work and bread for 
them, and at the same time brought them the Word and Bread 
of Life. For ten years he lived among them as a preacher of 
righteousness in word and act. Even when the city relieved 
him of their care he did not forsake them, but until the day 
of his death remained with those for whom he had lived and 
labored so long. In the circle in which von Kottwitz other- 
wise moved were men like Tholuck, Otto von Gerlach, 
Neander, Stier, and Wichern, upon all of whom his conse- 
crated personality exercised a profound influence. His 
deeply religious nature is illustrated by a conversation he once 
had with Fichte, the philosopher. The latter had said: 
*' The child prays, but the man wills." To this von Kott- 
witz replied: " Professor, I have six hundred men dependent 



6o THE INNER MISSION IN ITS MODERN FORM 

on me for bread, and when I do not know where to get it, the 
only thing I can do is to pray." For a moment Fichte was 
speechless, and then, with tear-moistened cheeks, he an- 
swered: " Yes, dear Baron, my philosophy does not reach that 
far." 

Amalie Sieveking (July 25, 1794-April i, 1859), known as 
" the Hamburg Tabitha," in 1823 conceived the idea of 
forming a Protestant sisterhood, patterned somewhat after 
the Sisters of Charity of the Roman Cathohc Church. In 
1 83 1, when the cholera appeared in Hamburg, she made an 
effort to put her plans into execution. She issued an appeal 
in which she entreated others of like mind to join with her 
in nursing the sick. When no one responded she undertook 
the work alone, soon became the superintendent of the 
cholera hospital, and by her devotion to duty earned the 
undying respect and confidence of the community. Aban- 
doning the idea of a sisterhood, she organized, in 1832, a 
women's society for the care of the sick and poor of her native 
city, which is still in existence, and which has served as the 
model for many similar societies in other parts of Germany. 
When Fliedner later began his work at Kaiserswerth he made 
an effort to win her for the deaconess cause; but she would not 
consent to rehnquish the work to which she believed herself 
called of God at Hamburg. 

John Howard (Sept. 3, 1726-Jan. 20, 1790), the apostle 
of prison reform. Interest in prisons and prisoners was first 
awakened in this eminent English philanthropist by his own 
experiences as a prisoner. On his way to Lisbon in 1756 the 
vessel on which he was a passenger was captured by a French 
privateer, and he was thrown into a dungeon, first at Brest 
and then at Morlaix, where, in common with others, he was 
obliged to suffer the greatest barbarities. On his release he 
returned to England, where he remained until after the death 
of his second wife in 1765. In 1769 he began his series of 
tours on the Continent and in Great Britain, on which he 
made the most careful investigation into the condition of 
prisons, gathered numerous details of the most shocking 



ITS IMMEDIATE ANTECEDENTS 6l 

character, and everywhere endeavored to inculcate the thought 
that the ultimate purpose of imprisonment must be the refor- 
mation of the convict. Only in Belgium and Holland did 
he find better conditions; and here he learned to know the 
beneficent results of labor, instruction, and religious exercises 
in prisons. 

In 1785 Howard also began to study methods for suppress- 
ing the plague. On a second trip to the Continent for this 
purpose, he was himself stricken, and died at Cherson, on the 
Black Sea. A monument eulogizing the deceased was 
placed in St. Paul's Cathedral, London. To Howard 
belongs the credit of having inaugurated the great reforms 
which have made the present prison system of most countries 
so vastly different from what it was a century ago. 

Elizabeth Fry (Feb. 2, 1780-Sept. 7, 1845), after John 
Howard, the chief promoter of prison reform in Europe, 
was the daughter of John Gurney, a Friend, and was born 
near Norwich, England. Somewhat worldly minded in 
early life, her religious character did not begin to assume shape 
until her eighteenth year, at which time she was profoundly 
impressed by the preaching of an American Friend, William 
Savery. In August, 1800, she married Joseph Fry, a London 
merchant. Amid increasing family cares she still found time 
to look after the poor and the neglected of the neighborhood. 
Early in 1 813 she made her first visits to Newgate Prison, 
and was deeply moved by the deplorable physical, mental, 
and moral condition in which she found the three hundred 
women incarcerated there. After several years of personal 
work among them she formed the Association for the Im- 
provement of the Female Prisoners in Newgate in April, 
181 7, whose objects included the entire separation of the 
sexes, classification of criminals, female supervision for 
women, and adequate provision for their religious and secular 
instruction, as also for their useful employment. Through 
the efforts of the Association, and largely of Mrs. Fry herself, 
such radical changes for the better were effected, and so many 
depraved characters were permanently reformed, that the 



62 THE INNER MISSION IN ITS MODERN FORM 

work done at Newgate began to attract general attention. 
Similar societies were organized in other parts of Great 
Britain and on the Continent. In 1818 Mrs. Fry, with her 
brother, visited the prisons of Northern England and Scot- 
land, and in 1827 those of Ireland. From 1838 to 1843 she 
made five trips to the Continent for the same purpose; 
whilst in 1839 her efforts brought about the formation of a 
society for the care of discharged convicts and for the visita- 
tion of vessels that transported convicts to the colonies. 
Among the eminent men of Germany influenced by Mrs. 
Fry were Frederick William IV., Bunsen, Fliedner, and 
Wichern. Her motto was " Charity to the soul is the soul of 
charity," and she has very properly been called the " female 
Howard." 

Thomas Chalmers (March 17, 1780-May 31, 1847), the 
eminent Scotch divine, comes to notice here chiefly because 
of his labors in behalf of the poor. It was during his pastorate 
in St. John's parish, Glasgow (1819-1823), that he first put 
his plans into execution. He did away with public relief, 
and made it the Christian duty of his parishioners to provide 
for the care of the poor in their midst through voluntary 
contributions. The parish was made up chiefly of weavers, 
laborers, factory workers, and other operatives. *' Of its 
2000 families," says the Rev. Dr. Hanna, his son-in-law and 
biographer, " more than 800 had no connection with any 
Christian church, while the number of its uneducated children 
was countless. He broke up his parish into 25 districts, each 
of which he placed under separate management, and estab- 
lished two week-day schools, and between 40 and 50 local 
Sabbath-schools, for the instruction of the children of the 
poorer and neglected classes, more than 1000 of whom 
attended. In a multitude of other ways he sought to elevate 
and purify the lives of his parishioners. The management 
of the poor in the parish of St. John's was intrusted to his 
care by the authorities as an experiment, and in four years he 
reduced the pauper expenditure from £1400 to £280 per 
annum." The latter was accomplished " by careful scrutiny 



ITS IMMEDIATE ANTECEDENTS 6^ 

of every case in which pubhc rehef was asked for, by a 
summary rejection of the idle, the drunken, and the worth- 
less, by stimulating every effort that the poor could make 
to help themselves, and, when necessary, aiding them in 
their efforts." Only as a last resort were the poor funds of 
the church drawn upon. Strange to say, however, the sys- 
tem that yielded such excellent results was soon violently 
opposed by the civil authorities, and survived only fourteen 
years after Chalmers had resigned the pastorate of St. 
John's in 1823, to accept the chair of moral philosophy 
in the University of St. Andrews. In 1828 he was trans- 
ferred to the chair of theology in Edinburgh. Here he 
became the leader of the Free Church movement, which on 
the 1 8th of May, 1843, culminated in his withdrawal from 
the Established Church, followed by 470 other clergymen. 
The four remaining years of his life were spent by him in 
perfecting the organization of the Free Church, and as 
principal of the Free Church College. 

David Nasmith (March 21, 1799-Nov. 25, 1839), born at 
Glasgow, a layman of intense zeal and self-consecration, but 
not always clear in his views, was the originator of city 
missions (p. 116), As secretary of twenty-three Christian 
societies of Glasgow he had come to the conviction that 
some agency was required to serve, as it were, as an extension 
of the pastoral office; or, in other words, that persons were 
needed to go after and bring in those that stood aloof, to 
assist in the cure of souls, and to hold services in neglected 
localities. With thoughts like these, and assisted by eight 
laymen, Nasmith established the first city mission, in Glas- 
gow, in 1826. In 1835 he founded the now extensive London 
City Mission. The impulse given by him led to many 
similar undertakings in Europe and America. 

Hans Nielsen Hauge (April 3, 1771-March 29, 1824) was 
a powerful lay preacher of Norway. Born of godly parents, 
reared in an atmosphere of genuine piety, from his early 
youth a zealous student of the Bible, and a constant reader 
of the devotional writings of Luther, Arndt, and Pontoppidan, 



64 THE INNER MISSION IN ITS MODERN FORM 

he began as a young man to hold religious meetings, produce 
and circulate controversial writings, and finally, as a lay 
preacher, to travel from place to place delivering the old 
Gospel message, in order to rescue the nation, if possible, 
from the blighting effects of Rationalism. As was to be 
expected the widespread movement he inaugurated met 
with violent opposition from the rationalistic clergy, by whom 
he was slandered and persecuted, and who had him re- 
peatedly imprisoned. Finally, broken in health and bereft 
of his business, he remained in comparative retirement until 
his death. While laying a one-sided emphasis on certain 
articles of the Christian faith, Hauge nevertheless claimed 
that he sought to follow the doctrines of Christ and His 
apostles as set forth in the Scriptures and in the Symbolical 
Books of the Lutheran Church; and as " the Spener of the 
North " his influence was pronounced in the revival of 
evangelical faith and piety. 

B. Its Systematic Development 

Until the middle of the last century all the movements 
and undertakings now denominated as Inner Mission work 
were of a private and individual character, and still awaited a 
master hand to bring them into proper coordination. Whether 
consciously so designed or not, they were destined ultimately 
to become a part of a greater movement, whose purpose it 
was to influence the Church and society as a whole. 

It was Wichern's powerful plea at the Wittenberg Church 
Congress that brought together the scattered elements, 
united them in a common cause, aroused all Protestant 
Germany to the need of the hour, and gave the impulse that 
brought into being so many of the vast and varied acti^dties 
sketched in the remaining pages of this volume. Among 
these activities, all of which are the outgrowth of a reawak- 
ened faith, we find again the GemeUidcpJlcgc of the Early 
Church, the institutional system of a later period, and the 
associational method of work which in some form or other has 



ITS SYSTEMATIC DEVELOPMENT 65 

always existed in the Church. In their cooperation with 
one another these have but one object in view, namely, the 
cure of social ills, not, indeed, by external and mere mechan- 
ical means, but from within, and by those means that impress 
and give proper shape to the moral and religious side of man's 
being. 

What the Inner Mission movement has in the last sixty 
or seventy years become is, under God, due to its great 
leaders. Foremost among these was Wichem. 

JOHANN Heinrich Wichern, commonly Called the ''father 
of the Inner Mission," was bom in Hamburg, April 21, 
1808. His youth fell into the period when Germany was 
still suffering from the spiritual desolation wrought by 
Rationahsm and the physical ills resulting from the Napo- 
leonic wars. The oldest of seven children, he was obHged 
at the age of fifteen, on the death of his father, to interrupt 
his studies more or less by giving private instruction in order 
to earn something toward the support of the family. After 
his confirmation at seventeen he became tutor in a private 
school near Hamburg, and at the same time pursued studies 
in the academic gymnasium of his native city, an institution 
designed to be a connecting link between the ordinary 
gymnasium and the university. After many internal and 
external conflicts, through all of which he preserved his 
childlike faith, Wichem was at last enabled by the aid of 
friends to enter the University of Gottingen in the fall of 
1828. Here he remained three semesters, and was espe- 
cially attracted toward Prof. Liicke, whose lectures on the 
harmony between revelation and science greatly strength- 
ened his faith. From Gottingen Wichern went to Berlin. 
Here he came into close personal contact with men like 
Schleiermacher, Neander, Baron von Kottwitz, and Dr. 
Julius, all of w^hom left their impress upon him, and had much 
to do with shaping his subsequent career. In the fall of 
1 83 1 he returned to Hamburg, and, having successfully 
passed his theological examination, became a " candidate," 
and was ready to accept a call to a pastorate. 



66 THE INNER MISSION IN ITS MODERN FORM 

Such a call, however, never came to him, as the Lord had 
chosen him for a different sphere of v/ork. In 1825 Pastor 
Rautenberg and J. G. Oncken had begun a Sunday-school 
in a suburb of Hamburg — the first in Germany: with this 
Wichern connected himself, and became its principal teacher. 
Among the children gathered in this school and in his visits 
from house to house he learned to know the spiritual, moral, 
and physical wretchedness of thousands as he had never 
known it before. How to reheve this now became the upper- 
most thought in his mind. Accordingly, on the 31st of 
October, 1833, he, with his mother and sister, moved into a 
small house which had been placed at his disposal in another 
suburb of Hamburg, known as Horn. Here a child-saving 
institution was to be established. The beginnings were most 
humble. Bread, salt, and the Bible were all that the dining- 
table of the living room had to offer; and two pictures, 
'* Christ Blessing Little Children " and " Christ's Entry 
into Jerusalem," adorned the otherwise bare walls. A few 
days later the first three children were received, and by the 
end of the year this number had grown to twelve. Thus 
was begun the famous institution known as Das Rauhe 
Haus, which, in its subsequent extraordinary development 
and the methods which it introduced, became the pattern 
for many similar institutions not only in Germany, but in 
other lands. 

Two characteristic principles in Wichern's child-saving 
work were change of environment and the " family system." 
To reaHze the latter he divided his depraved boys into groups 
of ten or twelve in separate houses. This, however, neces- 
sitated a " housefather " for each group or family; and thus 
Wichern became a pioneer in another branch of Inner Mission 
work. He began the training of men not only for service in 
his own institution, but for the work of mercy elsewhere. 
And to-day Germany has seventeen so-called BrudcrJiauscr 
with over three thousand " brothers," engaged in upward of 
twenty-five different spheres of labor. 

Possibly the most important day in Wichern's life was the 



ITS SYSTEMATIC DEVELOPMENT 67 

226. of September, 1848. A Church Congress had been 
called to meet at Wittenberg, in the Castle Church, where 
Luther lay buried, and upon whose door the great Reformer 
had nailed his Ninety-five Theses. The chief purpose of the 
Congress was to bring about a federation of the Protestant 
Churches of Germany, to meet and, if possible, overcome the 
constantly growing evils in the Hfe of the nation. Though 
Wichern was to be privileged to speak in the interests of the 
Inner Mission cause, the subject was then still so little under- 
stood and deemed of such small importance that it was given 
the last place on the last day's program. But this did not 
satisfy Wichern. On the afternoon of the first day he re- 
minded the Congress of the fact that he attended it only on 
condition that the subject so near to his heart should receive 
adequate consideration. After sketching in briefest outline 
the conditions to be met and the methods that must be 
followed, the Congress, deeply impressed by his statements, 
resolved to change the order of the program and to permit 
Wichern to speak on the following day. 

That afternoon marked not only a new epoch in Wichern's 
life, but in the Church of Germany as well. Speaking 
altogether extemporaneously, but with fervid eloquence, he 
pictured to the Congress the spiritual indifference and desti- 
tution of entire classes; the distressing conditions resulting 
for large numbers from the rapid growth of the cities; the 
antichristian sentiments entertained, and the heathenish 
mode of Hfe followed by many in the ranks of the wealthy and 
cultured as well as among the poor and ignorant; and how the 
Church and Christian people in general had hitherto been 
bUnd to these things. 

In support of his statements he cited names, figures, and 
numerous personal experiences. He called attention to the 
fact that here and there isolated efforts had been made to 
stem the tide of evil; but now " the time has come," he said, 
in conclusion, " when the entire Evangelical Church must 
make the Inner Mission her work and demonstrate her faith 
by her love. This love must burn in her as the torch lighted 



68 THE INNER MISSION IN ITS MODERN FORM 

of God, to show that Christ Hves in His people. As the whole 
Christ reveals Himself in the living Word of God, so must He 
also declare Himself in divine acts, and the highest, purest, 
and most churchly of these is saving love. If the Inner 
Mission be viewed in this light, the Church will have a new 
future before her." The effect of this matchless plea on the 
Congress, and, indeed, on the whole of Protestant Germany, 
was instant and powerful, and resulted in the organization 
on the 4th of January, 1849, ^^ ^^^ Central Committee for 
the Inner Mission of the German EvangeHcal Church, of 
which Wichern naturally was the leading spirit. His famous 
Denkschrift, issued in April, 1849, became the Program of the 
Inner Mission. 

In order to permit Wichern to present the cause in other 
parts of Germany, he was in 1850 given an assistant at the 
Rauhe Haus. The need of such a helper and substitute 
became still more evident when in 185 1 the Prussian govern- 
ment commissioned him to inspect the penal and reformatory 
institutions of the kingdom, and when in 1857 he was ap- 
pointed to a position in the Department of the Interior 
and a member of the High Consistory. This required him to 
live in Berlin during the winter, and here he began the 
Johannesstift for the training of brothers, and laid the founda- 
tion of the City Mission, now the most important in Germany. 
The first City Mission in Germany was begun by him at 
Hamburg, November 10, 1848; and he aided materially in 
bringing others into existence. 

For the wars of 1864, 1866, and 1870 Wichern organized 
the Prussian military diaconate; but in 1871, under the 
burden of work, domestic afflictions, and other cares, his 
health began to fail. In 1874 he became entirely disabled 
by a stroke of paralysis. Compelled to relinquish all work, 
he retired to his much-loved Rauhe Hans, where, after seven 
years of suffering, he passed to his eternal home, April 7, 
1881. 

Wichern's wife was Amanda Bohmc, whom he first met 
in connection with his work in Pastor Rautcnberg's Sunday 



ITS SYSTEMATIC DEVELOPMENT 69 

school, but did not marry until 1835, two years after the 
opening of the Rauhe Haus. This union was blessed with 
nine children, four sons and five daughters. One of the sons, 
Johann, succeeded his father as director of the institution. 

Gifted with extraordinary insight into existing conditions, 
great resourcefulness, and the power of eloquent speech, 
Wichern became the incarnation of the Inner Mission move- 
ment in its wider scope. In the program mapped out 
by him he placed the Word above everything^ and regarded 
the works of mercy done in Christ's name, not as the chief 
object of the Inner Mission, but only as the active demonstra- 
tion of that love through which the faith wrought by the 
Word exercises itself. 

Wichern and his labors are to-day known to a large part 
of the Christian world; the movement he inaugurated is 
being studied with increasing interest; and its methods have 
unconsciously influenced Christian work in other lands 
besides Germany. 

Of no less consequence in the development of the Inner 
Mission movement, though in some respects less gifted than 
Wichern, was Theodor Fliedner, the son of a poor pastor 
at Eppstein, Nassau, born January 21, 1800, died October 4, 
1864. Left an orphan at thirteen, it was only through the 
greatest self-denial that he was enabled to get an education. 
He pursued his theological studies at the Universities of 
Giessen and Gottingen, where, in spite of their rationalistic 
atmosphere, he retained his faith in the miracles and resur- 
rection of Christ. After spending another year in the Theo- 
logical Seminary at Herborn, and serving for a time as tutor 
in a private family at Cologne, he became pastor in 1822 of 
the small Protestant congregation in the Roman Catholic 
town of Kaiserswerth, on the Rhine, at the meagre salary 
of 180 Prussian dollars. The financial distress of his con- 
gregation was greatly increased by the failure of a manu- 
facturing concern upon which the town largely depended 
for a living. This led FUedner to undertake a collecting tour 
for the congregation, at first in the Rhine Province, and in 



70 THE INNER MISSION IN ITS MODERN FORM 

1823 through Holland and England. This not only yielded 
him enough money to put his congregation on a firm finan- 
cial basis, but his intercourse with active Christians of other 
lands greatly stimulated his own faith, and the institutions of 
mercy he saw suggested to him the thought of undertaking 
similar work in his own country. Speaking of his visit to 
Holland and England he says: " In both these Protestant 
countries I became acquainted with a multitude of charitable 
institutions for the benefit of both body and soul. I saw 
schools and other educational organizations, almshouses, 
orphanages, hospitals, prisons, and societies for the reforma- 
tion of prisoners, Bible and missionary societies, etc.; and 
at the same time I observed that it was a living faith in 
Christ which had called almost every one of these institutions 
and societies into life, and still preserved them in activity. 
This evidence of the practical power and fertility of such a 
principle had a most powerful influence in strengthening my 
own faith," 

Inspired by the example of the English Quakeress, Eliza- 
beth Fry, Fhedner was the first in Germany to interest him- 
self in behalf of prisoners. For years he visited the peni- 
tentiary at Diisseldorf every two weeks in order to give the 
inmates pastoral care; and in 1826 he founded the Rhenish- 
Westphalian Prison Society, the first of the kind on the 
Continent. It was in connection with his visits to Diissel- 
dorf that he met his first wife, Fredericke Miinster, whom he 
married in 1828, and in whom he found such a wise and faith- 
ful help-mate in his subsequent work. 

In September, 1833, a discharged female convict, named 
Minna, who had found no place of shelter elsewhere, came to 
Fliedner's house and begged for protection and help. Flied- 
ner and his wife lodged her in the small summer-house of the 
parsonage garden ; a second appHcant soon appeared who was 
given shelter in the same place; as others continued to come 
the first Magdalen home began to assume shape; and thus the 
little building became the cradle of the Kaiserswerth institu- 
tions. 




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ITS SYSTEMATIC DEVELOPMENT 7 1 

' Three years later that work was begun with which Flied- 
ner's name will always continue to be most closely associated. 
Among the Mennonites in Holland he had found deaconesses. 
Others before him had advocated the restoration of the 
ancient office, but had found no practical way of doing so. 
He himself had become fully persuaded that no one was 
so well fitted by nature and grace for the work of ministering 
love as a devout Christian woman; and to his mind the solu- 
tion of the problem lay in establishing institutions for the 
special training of unmarried women in the various branches 
of diaconal activity, and in associating these as a close com- 
munity. Accordingly, in the spring of 1836, with no money, 
but a large measure of faith, he bought the largest and best 
house in Kaiserswerth, through his efforts the Rhenish- 
Westphahan Deaconess Association was organized, and on the 
13th of October of the same year the first Deaconess Mother- 
house was opened. The first woman to offer herself for the 
service was Gertrude Reichardt. To-day over 1300 sisters 
are attached to the House, and almost 20,000 to the 84 
motherhouses that constitute the Kaiserswerth Union. 
These labor in all parts of the world and in almost every 
line of benevolent activity. Kaiserswerth alone had 340 
fields of labor in 1910, some of these in Asia and Africa; 
while the total number of houses comprised in the Kaisers- 
werth Union had sisters laboring on over 7200 stations. 

Besides furnishing hundreds of sisters to institutions not 
under its control and to congregations, the Kaiserswerth 
Motherhouse maintains fifty institutions of its own — twenty- 
two at Kaiserswerth; eleven in other parts of Germany, and 
seventeen in foreign lands. 

It may well be questioned whether in the great modern 
revival of practical Christianity any one life was more potent 
and more far-reaching in its influence than that of Fliedner. 
In restoring the female diaconate he again gave to the Church 
the most effective agency for the systematic exercise of 
Christian charity that she ever had — an agency that in these 
days has made possible many forms of work that could hardly 



72 THE INNER MISSION IN ITS MODERN FORM 

be successfully undertaken without it. It has brought into 
existence many new charities, and has in many instances 
revolutionized the methods of the old. The Christian 
care of epileptics, the care and training of neglected children, 
the protection and instruction of young women in working 
girls' homes, the rescue of the fallen, and the enormous 
improvements in the nursing of the sick, are, among many 
other things, most intimately associated with the revival of 
the female diaconate; while, above all, the deaconess has 
become the most efficient aid of the pastoral office in the 
benevolent work of the parish. Indeed, without deaconesses 
the vast work carried on by the German Inner Mission 
for more than half a century would have been impossible; 
nor might the charities of other lands have increased so fast 
and improved their methods so rapidly had it not been for 
the example set by Protestant Germany. 

When we think of all that Fliedner accomplished and see 
to what proportions the work begun by him has grown, 
we may well exclaim: '^ This is the Lord's doing; it is mar- 
velous in our eyes!" Fliedner himself was not a great man 
such as the world calls great. He had neither brilliant learn- 
ing to attract attention, nor the fire of eloquence to move the 
multitude; but as a man of prayer and childlike faith and 
deep humility he had power with God. Endowed with 
extraordinary practical wisdom and a wonderful talent for 
organization and adaptation, and having exceptional capacity 
for work and untiring energy, he desired only to know the 
mind of God that he might use all his gifts for the glory of 
Him whose servant he was. " He must increase, but I 
must decrease," was the regulative principle of his life. 
Therefore the Lord blessed him in his work, and wherever the 
Fliedner spirit has since been preserved there the great work 
inaugurated by him has made progress. 

The example of this plain man of God should teach us 
anew that in the kingdom of our Lord only he is truly great 
who is least; and that large blessings come only to those who 
use the Lord's gifts as His faithful servants. The extra- 



ITS SYSTEMATIC DEVELOPMENT 73 

ordinary growth of the Kaiserswerth institutions and of the 
deaconess cause in general from a very insignificant begin- 
ning is a most remarkable illustration of the principle an- 
nounced by our Lord in the parable of the mustard seed — 
a principle that in these days of large enterprises and noisy 
demonstrations is too often forgotten. Above all does it 
teach us that when the Lord wants His work done He does 
not in the first instance require material things, but willing, 
consecrated persons, who would be nothing more than in- 
struments in His hands for the accomplishment of His pur- 
poses. When once He has the latter. He never fails to open 
plenty of hearts and hands to supply the former. 

To the names of Wichern and Fliedner must now be added 
that of WiLHELM LoHE (Feb. 21, 1808- Jan. 2, 1872), a man 
" of clear vision, of great heart, of gentle hand," whose 
" name is deeply inwoven into the history of the Lutheran 
Church in Bavaria, of Germany, of America, of Inner Mis- 
sions, and works of mercy the world over." Lohe was the 
son of pious parents, lost his father at eight, attended the 
gymnasium at Nuremberg, and entered the University of 
Erlangen in 1826, where his spiritual life was greatly in- 
fluenced by Professor Krafit of the Reformed Church. 
After a brief stay at the University of Berlin (1828) he became 
vicar at various places, and everywhere attracted attention 
by the earnestness and eloquence of his preaching. In 1837 
he was called to Neuendettelsau, a small and unattractive 
village in Bavaria. Here he unfolded his great powers as 
preacher, liturgist, catechist, and pastor, and attracted 
people from near and far to reap the benefit of his ministra- 
tions. A rich literary activity also helped to extend his 
influence far beyond the bounds of his parish. In his writings, 
as in his public ministrations, he represented the strictest 
type of Lutheran orthodoxy. 

In 1841 Lohe's attention was directed to the spiritual dis- 
tress of German Lutherans who had emigrated to the United 
States. To relieve this he made provision for the training 
of missionaries, first at Nuremberg, then in the Missionary 



74 THE INNER MISSION IN ITS MODERN FORM 

Institute he founded at Neuendettelsau. The first of the 
men sent over united with the Saxon Lutherans in forming the 
Missouri Synod in 1847. Lohe was also active in the founding 
of its seminary at Fort Wayne, Indiana, and in fostering 
missionary activity among the Michigan Indians. When 
differences arose between him and the Missouri Synod and 
his relations with it were severed, the Iowa Synod was formed 
by a few men whom Lohe had sent (Grossmann, Deindorfer, 
S. Fritschel), and of the ministers subsequently added to this 
body many had received their theological training at Neu- 
endettelsau. In 1850 Lohe organized the Society for Inner 
Missions as understood by the Lutheran Church, whose ob- 
jects were to be various, but which in reality found its chief 
sphere of activity in the promotion of the work of the Mis- 
sionary Institute. 

The work by which Lohe will always be best known is the 
Neuendettelsau Deaconess House and the institutions of 
mercy that cluster about it. In the creation and develop- 
ment of these he found abundant opportunity for the utiliza- 
tion of his peculiar and extraordinary gifts. Besides the 
practical training which the sisters here received, his preach- 
ing, teaching, and Seelsorge, and the wonderful richness of 
his liturgical services served to give them a very high degree 
of mental and spiritual culture. He understood, as few do, 
how to use beauty of form unto edification, and as a vehicle 
for the expression of the deepest spirituality. At Neuen- 
dettelsau psalmody was again introduced, church music 
of the purest type found a home, and ecclesiastical embroid- 
ery became for the first time a branch of deaconess work; 
all this, however, in the service of Him who is to be worshipped 
in spirit and in truth, and in the beauty of holiness. 

In the institutions created at Neuendettelsau " the wealth 
and the depth of the spirit of Lohe, as well as his incomparable 
power of organization, developed without hindrance in a 
wonderful manner. The rich blessing which flowed forth in 
every direction compelled the admiring recognition even of 
those who did not share his churchly position. In tliis 



ITS SYSTEMATIC DEVELOPMENT 75 

many-sided activity the inner life of Lohe bore fruit even to 
his end, without, however, externalizing itself. He was 
a person of wonderful concentration, endowed with quiet 
power and peace, full of ardor, and withal enriched with the 
soberest discretion, conscious of the power given him, and 
yet abounding in deep humihty, without a trace of sentimen- 
taUty or emotionalism, and still of a deeply apprehending 
inwardness, devotion, and sympathy. He had a delicate 
appreciation of all that was humanly great and beautiful, 
but the element in which he lived was the superlative beauty 
{hochgelobte Schonheit) of Christ. In his company one was 
impressed as though he were always praying, and even 
when he spoke of small, outward things it was as the breath 
of the Spirit of the kingdom of God."^ 

As leading representatives of special forms of Inner Mission 
work the following may be mentioned: 

KarlMez (April 20, 1808-May 28, 1877), the proprietor of 
a silk mill at Freiburg, Baden, in which he had one thousand 
female operatives. Realizing to what moral dangers such 
are often exposed, he undertook to make his establishment 
a conservator of morals. To this end he built the first home 
for factory women (p. 153). In this board and lodging were 
furnished at a minimum price, its atmosphere was that of 
the Christian household, Mez and his family were in daily 
contact with it, he himself conducted daily prayers, and 
thus by word and example left an impress for good upon his 
employes. That they might also become good housekeepers 
they were required to do a certain amount of housework after 
factory hours. DemoraUzing amusements, like public dances, 
were forbidden. A hospital was estabhshed in which sick 
employes received free treatment, and a savirgs bank con- 
nected with the estabhshment paid five per cent, on deposits. 
Smaller factories were opened in neighboring villages and 
towns, where girls who worked in them could live at home and 
enjoy all the advantages of home life. The results of Mez's 
experiment proved highly successful; and his methods are a 
» Dr. S. Fritschel in the Lutheran Cyclopedia, p. 285. 



76 THE INNER MISSION IN ITS MODERN FORM 

rebuke to the proprietors of manufacturing and mercantile 
establishments who have no concern either for the physical 
or the moral well-being of their employes. 

Karl Ulrich Kobelt (Nov. 5, 1847-April 6, 1899), born 
in the Province of Posen, and in his youth and student years 
brought into contact with many of the religious leaders of 
his day, in 1875 became pastor and superintendent of the 
institutions at Nemstedt in the Harz Mountains, begun by 
Philipp and Marie Nathusius in 1850. When he took charge 
these consisted of a rescue home for children and a Diakonen- 
haus ("Lindenhof "), and two homes for feeble-minded and 
epileptic (" Elisabethstift," ''Kreuzhlilfe"). While his man- 
agement of all these interests was marked by unusual pastoral 
fidelity, he gave special attention to the work of training 
deacons, and never grew Vvxary in his advocacy of this cause. 
He was highly gifted as a preacher, liturgist, and musician, 
and equally competent in giving direction to the secular 
affairs of his institutions. Under the burden of his incessant 
labors his health began to fail, and when he passed away at 
the comparatively early age of fifty-two, the Inner Mission 
lost one of its most capable representatives. 

Friedrich von Bodelschwingh (March 6, 1831-April 2, 
1 910), in many respects the most remarkable of recent 
Inner Mission leaders, was the son of a Prussian Minister 
of Finance, and a playmate of the Crown Prince, subse- 
quently Frederick III. After completing his theological 
studies he served for a time as pastor in Paris and in the 
Westphahan village of Delling. In 1872 he became the 
head of the small institution for epileptics at Bielefeld, 
Westphalia, which under his management developed into 
the vast " colony of mercy " that it is to-day. Here dwell 
several thousand afflicted ones — epileptic, feeble-minded, 
and icHotic — grouped into families in separate buildings. 
All who are able are kept busy with some indoor or out- 
door employment suited to their capacity. Wliolesome and 
steady occupation is found to be their best tonic, and prac- 
tically all the work of the colony is done by tliose who com- 




KOBELT 



SCHAFER 



ITS SYSTEMATIC DEVELOPMENT 77 

pose it. A Diakonenhaus ('' Nazareth ") and a Deaconess 
House (" Sarepta "), both a part of the colony, furnish the 
trained care-takers. A church seating upwards of 1500 is the 
center of the colony, and the place where the sufferers find 
comfort, and those who minister to them renew their strength. 
Another creation of von Bodelschwingh is " Wilhelmsdorf," 
the labor colony in the Senne, ten miles from Bielefeld. 

The secret of von Bodelschwingh's success is to be found in 
his marvelous resourcefulness and his extraordinary talent 
for organization and administration, combined mth a child- 
like faith and a most tender and sympathetic love. He was 
a nobleman of God's making; and in the results achieved by 
him he does not come behind Wichern, Fliedner, and Lohe. 

Adolf Stocker (Dec. 11, 1835-Feb. 7, 1909), whose 
name will always remain most intimately associated with the 
development of the Berlin City Mission, was born in Halber- 
stadt. Saxony, studied theology and philosophy at Halle 
and Berlin, served for a time as a private tutor, was ca,lled 
to his first pastorate in 1863 and his second two and a half 
years later, and finally became court and cathedral preacher 
in Berlin, October 18, 1874. Here he was in 1877 placed 
at the head of the City Mission, which he succeeded in making 
the effective agency for good that it is to-day (p. 118). 
Stocker was an eloquent preacher and public speaker, who 
attracted large audiences from all ranks of society wherever 
he appeared. Perhaps since the days of Wichern there was 
no one who had a better understanding of the social problem, 
nor one who perceived more clearly whence its solution must 
come. It was in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testa- 
ment that he found those principles that must He at the foun- 
dation of a proper social order; and these principles he un- 
ceasingly emphasized in his writings and public utterances. 

Among the best kno^Ti and most prolific wTiters on Inner 
Mission subjects are Uhlhorn and Schafer. 

Gerhard Uhlhorn (Feb. 17, 1826-Dec. 15, 1901) became 
private instructor at the University of Gottingen in 1852, 
consistorial councillor and court preacher at Hanover in 1855, 



78 THE INNER MISSION IN ITS MODERN FORM 

a member of the consistory in 1866, and abbot of Loccum in 
1878. As court preacher he also served the Deaconess 
House at Hanover in the capacity of pastor, and was for 
many years before his death the presiding officer of the 
Inner Mission society of his province. The practical knowl- 
edge thus gained, added to his mastery of historical material, 
resulted in the preparation of a number of publications 
dealing with Inner Mission subjects, chief among them 
Die Christliche Liebesth'atigkeit, in three volumes, of which 
the first has been translated into English (Christian Charity 
in the Ancient Church). 

The most voluminous writer on Inner Mission subjects, 
and their acknowledged scientific expositor, is Theodor 
ScHAFER (born Feb. 11, 1846), since 1872 pastor of the 
Deaconess House at Altona, Hamburg. The most note- 
worthy of his many publications are his Leitfaden der Inneren 
Mission, and Die weihliche Diakonie in ihrem ganzen Umfang 
dargestelU, the latter in three volumes. Many of his addresses 
have been issued under the title of Praktisches Christenthum, 
in four volumes. From 1877 to the close of 19 10 he was the 
publisher of a monthly known at first as Monatsschrift fur 
Diakonie und Inner e Mission, and since 1881 as Monats- 
schrift fur Innere Mission mit Einschluss der Diakonie, 
Diasporapflege, Evangelisation und gesamten Wohlthatig- 
keit. This is a veritable treasure-house of information on all 
phases of Inner Mission work. 

Among other German Inner Mission workers of more or 
less prominence may yet be mentioned Johannes Gossner 
(i 773-1 858), founder of the Elizabeth Hospital and Deaconess 
House in Berlin; Christian Gottlob Barth (1799-1862), 
of the Calwer Tract and Publication Society; King Friedrich 
Wilhelm IV. (i 795-1861), founder of the Deaconess House 
Bethanien in Berlin, and the warm friend and supporter of 
other Inner Mission enterprises; Professor Clemens Theodor 
Perthes (i 809-1 867), originator of the Ilerbergen zur Hcimath; 
Franz Heinrich Hiirtcr (1797-1873), founder and for many 
years rector of the Deaconess House at Strassburg; Aug. 



ITS SYSTEMATIC DEVELOPMENT 79 

Gottlieb Ferd. Schultz (1811-1875), rector of Bethanien in 
Berlin; Otto Gerhardt Heldring (i 804-1 874), who though a 
Dutch pastor, was very influential in Germany in the pro- 
motion of Magdalen homes; Ludwig Adolf Petri (1803- 
1873), a powerful preacher, and one of the foimders of the 
Inner Mission Society of Hanover and of the Lutheran 
GoUeskasten ; Johann Karl Heinrich Frohlich (1826-1881), 
the eminently gifted and successful rector of the Dresden 
Deaconess House; the Christian physician, Aug. Hermann 
Werner (1808-1882), a pioneer in the work of caring for 
invaHd and crippled children and who until his death had 
housed 10,475 in his institutions; Gustav Werner (1809- 
1887), another friend of children, and founder of a series of 
benevolent institutions; Wilhelm Baur (1828-1897) and Carl 
Wilh. Theo. Ninck (i 834-1 887), remarkable for their Inner 
Mission labors in connection with St. Ansgar's Church, 
Hamburg, and elsewhere; Julius Disselhofl (182 7-1 896), 
the assistant and successor of Fliedner at Kaiserswerth; 
Johannes Deinzer (1842-1897), instructor in the Missionary 
Institute at Neuendettelsau, and assistant and successor of 
Lohe in the Motherhouse; Karl Kj-ummacher (1830-1899), 
the active promoter of young people's societies; and Joh. 
Sam. Biittner (1831-1905) of the Deaconess House at 
Hanover. 

In Denmark Hans Knudsen (Jan. 11, 1813-Feb. 16, 1886) 
is held in high esteem for his work in behalf of crippled 
children. On the completion of his theological studies he 
was in 1837 sent to Tranquebar, East India, as a missionary; 
but as neither he nor his wife could endure the cHmate he 
returned to Copenhagen in 1843. After serving a number 
of congregations, and engaging for a time in literary work, 
he became pastor of the Deaconess House at Copenhagen. 
At the end of three years and a half he was also obliged to 
relinquish this post on account of increasing infirmities. 
But his work was not yet finished. In 1872 he one day saw 
a little girl wearily dragging herself along on a pair of poor 
crutches. This incident made a deep impression on his 



8o THE INNER MISSION IN ITS MODERN FORM 

mind and led him to organize a society whose object it was 
to treat crippled children by means of surgery and ortho- 
paedic appliances, and to give them such industrial training 
as would enable them to become self-supporting. Soon 
adult cripples were also included in the society's operations. 
So successful was its work that it attracted widespread at- 
tention and rapidly found imitation elsewhere. Until 1904 
over 10,000 sufferers had been benefited by the society's 
efforts. 

In Scotland Thomas Guthrie (Julyi2,i8o3-Feb.23,i873), 
the friend of Chalmers, and another distinguished divine 
and eloquent preacher of the Free Church, became interested 
in the neglected condition of many children in Edinburgh, 
where he was pastor, and in 1847 issued his first Plea for 
Ragged Schools, In these, children whose poverty and ragged 
appearance kept them out of other schools were to receive 
secular and religious instruction. The movement he in- 
augurated spread rapidly over Scotland and England, and 
in 1884 the Ragged School Union was formed, the president 
of which until his death was the active and eminent Christian 
statesman and philanthropist, the Earl of Shaftsbury (1801- 
1885). When the State finally made the work of the ragged 
schools superfluous by providing a sufficient number of ele- 
mentary schools for all classes of children, the Union became 
active in other directions; known to-day as the Ragged 
School Union and Shaftsbury Society, it does an immense 
work among poor, defective, and invalid children, combining 
with its care of the body a large measure of religious instruc- 
tion and spiritual nurture. 

In England there has been no worthier representative of 
genuine Inner Mission principles and practice than Dr. 
Thomas John Barnardo (July 15, 1845-Sept. 19, 1905), 
one of the great Christian philanthropists of the nineteenth 
century. 

Born in Dublin, he early in life came under strong religious 
influences, and resolved to become a medical missionary 
to China. With this in mind, he entered the London Hospi- 



ITS SYSTEMATIC DEVELOPMENT 8l 

tal, in 1866, as a student of medicine. Soon thereafter an 
epidemic of cholera broke out in the East End; and when 
volunteers were called for to serve the sick, Barnardo was one 
of the first to respond. This gave him an opportunity of 
seeing life in London's slums. Deeply moved by the poverty 
and sufi:ering of the people, and especially by the horribly 
neglected condition of the children, he resolved to do for 
them what he could. When the epidemic was over, he con- 
tinued to visit the poor in their wretched homes, and used 
his Sundays and some of his week-day evenings m teaching 
a few ragged urchins the truths of Christianity, in a rough 
and improvised school-room, in Stepney, which had once 
done service as a donkey-stable. On a bitter cold night, 
towards the close of 1866, there came into this " school- 
room," for shelter and warmth, a shoeless, hatless, shirtless 
little fellow named Jim Jarvis, who asked to be permitted to 
remain all night by the fire, on the promise that he would do 
no harm. To this Barnardo objected, and told the boy to 
go home. " Got no home!" was the quick response. " Got 
no home?" exclaimed Barnardo; " Be off, and go home to 
your mother; don't tell me!" ^' Got no mother!" replied 
the boy. " Then go home to your father," Barnardo con- 
tinued. " Got no father!" said the little fellow. " Got 
no father? But where are you friends? Where do you 
live?" "Don't live nowhere; got no friends!" Further 
questioning as to whether there were any other such forsaken 
and homeless boys as he, brought the answer: " Oh yes, sir; 
lots — 'eaps on 'em; mor'n I could count." To prove his 
statement, the boy, at Barnardo's request, led him into the 
neighborhood of Petticoat Lane, and there, on the roof of an 
old shed, eleven boys were found asleep, all homeless, with 
no other covering to protect them from the frosty night air 
than the thin, ragged clothing they were wearing. 

Shortly afterward Barnardo was quite unexpectedly 
called on to speak at a large missionary gathering in Agri- 
cultural Hall, and, in the course of his remarks, related his 
extraordinary adventure under the guidance of Httle Jim. 



82 THE INNER MISSION IN ITS MODERN FORM 

The story found its way into the newspapers, and came to 
the notice of the Earl of Shaftesbury, who sent Barnardo 
an invitation to dine with him at Grosvenor Square. At 
the dinner- table the Earl requested Barnardo to repeat the 
story to the gentlemen present. They listened to it with 
interest, but received it skeptically. There was only one 
way of settling the difficulty: to convince them of the absolute 
correctness of his statements Barnardo eagerly agreed to 
Lord Shaftesbury's proposition to take the entire company to 
places where children were actually to be seen sleeping out of 
doors, under the open sky. Cabs were ordered, and the whole 
party, in evening dress, drove off to the squalid quarters of 
East London. Strangely enough, for a time not a boy could 
be found. Barnardo began to feel embarrassed, when a 
policeman directed him where to look. " They'll come out 
if you'll give 'em a copper," the officer suggested. " A 
half -penny a head was offered, and then, from out of a great 
confused pile of old crates, boxes, and empty barrels, which 
were piled together, covered with a huge tarpaulin, seventy- 
three hoys crawled out from the lair where they had been 
seeking shelter for the night." Barnardo had proved his 
case, and had demonstrated that in the very heart of this 
great and rich city there were thousands of children without 
home or friend, who, by day and by night, lived in the streets. 
*' All London should know this," remarked the Earl; and now 
the Lord had wonderfully brought the work of the poor 
medical student to the notice of many of the city's leading 
philanthropists, who, in the years to come, could and did 
render it most effective service. 

It was not without a great internal conflict that Barnardo 
gave up his cherished plan of becoming a medical missionary; 
but after much and long-continued prayer it became in- 
creasingly evident to him that God meant him to remain 
where he was, and continue the work he had begun among 
the homeless waifs of London. The first money he received 
for it — ()'\(L — was given him by an unknown servant girl at 
the close of the missionary meeting in Agricultural Hall. 



ITS SYSTEMATIC DEVELOPMENT 83 

Soon larger gifts came; and in 1867 the first of the " Barnardo 
Homes " was opened in Stepney Causeway. And what 
wonderful things God wrought subsequently through the 
instrumentality of His devoted servant! When Dr. Barnardo 
died, on September 19, 1905, there were 121 branches, with 
8493 boys and girls under their care; and the income for 
1904 was ;^i87,509 (over $900,000). Every twenty-four 
hours 13 children were admitted. The number wholly 
maintained in 1904 was 10,905. Throughout the years of 
their existence the Homes have saved over 60,000 " unwanted " 
destitute children. Over 17,000 have been emigrated to 
Canada and South Africa. Less than ij per cent, of these 
have proved failures. The beautiful Girls' Village, at 
Barkingside, Ilford, consists of 64 cottages and 9 other build- 
ings; and here 1200 girls are in residence, who are trained in 
everything that tends to make good and useful women. 
The total amount of money received and expended by Dr. 
Barnardo for his various undertakings is said to exceed 
fifteen million dollars. 

Here is a record of successful work that is truly marvelous. 
And the secret of it all? God had found a man who was more 
than a great organizer and executive, and whose impulses 
were not merely those of the humanitarian, namely, a man 
of heroic faith, all of whose efforts, as he himself said, were 
'' watered and tended in the spirit of prayer and of love to 
Christ." And God gave the increase not only in material 
things, and made of the Barnardo institutions not simply a 
social and philanthropic, but also a most powerful spiritual, 
agency. Regarding the latter, Barnardo wrote: " A purely 
moral training would, doubtless, restore many a little vaga- 
bond as a respectable member to society; but the Christian 
faith desires something more than merely social or even moral 
reform. If nothing more than this is gained, I am sadly 
disappointed, and the work will fail of its most enduring 
harvest. My heart's desire and prayer to God for the 
children is that they might be saved ; not only for the present 
life, but also for the life to come; and I know not how the 



84 THE INNER MISSION IN ITS MODERN FORM 

latter can be effected, except through such an education, 
prayerful trainmg, and example as shall connect each child's 
heart by faith and love with the person of Christ as a crucified 
and risen Saviour. Indeed, I have little confidence in any 
reformation which does not begin in the heart, and, working 
outward by divine grace, change and renew the affections 
and will first, and then influence the habits and conduct." 

This is so pre-eminently the method and purpose of the 
Inner Mission, that Dr. Barnardo may well be enrolled 
among its most illustrious representatives, though having 
at no time been connected with the great movement on the 
Continent. Like all the men conspicuously associated with 
said movement, he was, above all, a Christian, and as such 
laid all stress upon the saving efficacy of the Word. Hence 
the large place which the Word, and faith, and prayer oc- 
cupied in his work. Nevertheless, he was not a sentimental 
dreamer nor a wild enthusiast. His undertakings were all 
carefully planned and organized, and whilst spending much 
time in laying his needs before God, he was said to be the 
busiest and most hard-working man in London; in this 
respect strikingly like our own Dr. Passavant. 

The man who in the Lutheran Church of America above all 
others deserves to be called an Inner Mission leader was the 
Rev. Dr. William Alfred Passavant (Oct. 9, 1821-June 3, 
1894). He was the first to attempt the introduction of the 
female diaconate in America (p. 98), founded orphanages at 
Zelienople and Rochester, Pa., hospitals at Pittsburgh, 
Chicago, Milwaukee, and Jacksonville, 111., and was instru- 
mental in establishing the Lutheran orphanages at German- 
town, Pa., Mt. Vernon, N. Y., and Boston, Mass., and the 
Emigrant House, now at No. 4 State St., New York City. 
It would be impossible at this place to give an adequate 
account of the missionary, benevolent, educational, and 
editorial labors of this eminent man of God; and for this 
the reader is therefore referred to ''The Life and Letters of 
the Rev. W. A. Passavant, D. D.," by the Rev. Dr. G. H. Gcr- 
berding (The Young Lutheran Co., Greenville, Pa., 1906). 




Passavaxt 



ITS ORGANS 85 

A man of similar tj^e in the Protestant Episcopal Church 
was the Rev. Dr. William Augustus Muhlenberg (Sept. 16, 
1776-April 8, 1877), the great-grandson of Heinrich Melchior 
Muhlenberg, patriarch of the Lutheran Church in America. 
Born in Philadelphia and baptized in the Lutheran Church, 
he early attached himself to the Episcopal Church because 
the Lutheran churches of his native city at that time used 
only the German language, with which he was not familiar. 
After his ordination in 1820 he served a church at Lancaster, 
Pa., where he remained six years. In 1846 he entered upon 
the pastorate of the Church of the Holy Communion, New 
York, having in the meantime given himself chiefly to the 
work of Christian education. Here he began his charitable 
activities. The two great Christian philanthropies with 
which his name will always remain most intimately associated 
are St. Luke's Hospital, New York, and the industrial 
settlement at St. Johnland, Long Island. 



C. Its Organs 

*^ Neither money, nor houses, nor castles, nor estates placed 
at the disposal of the Inner Mission," declared Wichern, 
" can be of any avail, so long as the persons are wanting, who 
with consummate skill and zeal make the work their own." 
However necessary material resources ultimately become, 
these are not the first requisite. The provision which Jesus 
made for the planting of His kingdom consisted not in silver 
and gold, nor in an elaborate code of rules and regulations, 
but in men. Those whom He chose for this purpose were 
not only carefully instructed by Him, but tney were also 
plentifully endowed with the gifts of the Holy Spirit; and 
thus furnished they went forth, and in obedience to His 
command testified of Him in word and in act (John 15 : 26, 
27). ^ 

Wichern, indeed, summoned the entire body of believers 
into the service of the Inner Mission; but, like Fliedner, he 
also saw that for its varied activities specially trained workers 



S6 THE INNER MISSION IN ITS MODERN FORM 

were needed, and that those who would become such must 
possess certain natural and spiritual endowments. In the 
tasks which the Inner Mission imposes zeal without knowl- 
edge, good intentions without judgment, impulses that are 
only humanitarian, and, above all, mere sentimentalism, will 
not suffice. Among the natural gifts required are tact, 
discretion, patience, executive ability, a fair measure of 
good health, and a mind capable of grasping both principles 
and practice. But special training can only then make these 
gifts really effective when they are the possession of Uving 
believers, whose hearts burn with love to their Lord, and who 
regard all their ejfforts in behalf of His needy brethren in the 
world as a service unto Him. 

I. The Diaconate 

The means for the application of redemption are the Word 
and the Sacraments committed by Christ to His Church. 
For the administration of these means He instituted the 
ministry of the Word (Matt. 28 : 19, 20; Mark 16 : 15; John 
20 : 21; Eph. 4: II, 12; Augsburg Confession, Art. V.). To 
this ministry originally also belonged the administration 
of the Church's external affairs; e. g., the reception and dis- 
tribution of the income and the care of the poor (Acts 4 : 35- 
37; 5:2; 6:2); but when the rapid growth of the Church 
made the introduction of more systematic methods neces- 
sary, and compelled a division of functions, the ministry of 
the Word {dtaxo^ia TOO Xoyoo)^ with the consent of the Church, 
created a new ministry (dcaxovia ^ xadrjfisptvrj, the " daily 
ministration," or " every-day ministry ")> since known 
as the diaconate. The occasion of its origin is narrated in 
Acts 6 : 1-6. When an apparently unequal distribution of 
the alms caused one portion of the congregation at Jerusalem 
to murmur against the other, the apostles, in order per- 
manently to remove the cause of complaint, *' called the 
multitude of the disciples unto them, and said. It is not reason 
that we should leave the Word of God and serve tables. 



ITS ORGANS 87 

Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of 
honest report, fxill of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom 
we may appoint over this business. But we will give our- 
selves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the 
Word." The assembled believers did as they were bidden, 
and, having chosen seven men with the required qualifica- 
tions, set them before the apostles, and these, " when they 
had prayed, laid their hands on them," i. e., ordained them to 
serve in this newly created office. 

To this ministry of mercy, as distinguished from the min- 
istry of the Word, were primarily committed the relief of 
the poor and sick, and the oversight of the Church's tem- 
poral affairs, under the supervision of the ministry of the 
Word. Nevertheless, as men " full of the Holy Ghost and 
wisdom," but only as a secondary function of their office, 
some of the deacons, under extraordinary circumstances, 
also performed the duties of the ministry of the Word. 
Thus Stephen preached (Acts 7), and Philip both preached 
and baptized (Acts 8 : 5-40) and labored as an evangelist 
(Acts 21 : 8). 

That this ministry, chiefly as a ministry of mercy, soon 
found its way from Jerusalem into other congregations estab- 
lished by the apostles is evident from i Tim. 3 : 8-10, where 
Paul enumerates the qualifications which deacons should 
possess. These " are just of that nature to fit them for 
mingling with the church in most familiar relations, to ascer- 
tain and reheve the wants of the poorer members with deli- 
cacy, appropriate reticence, and freedom from temptation 
to avaricious greed. It is noticeable that gravity, honest 
words, temperance, unselfishness, probity in themselves and 
in their households, and an honest faith outrank 'aptness 
to teach,' which in the context is said to be an indispensable 
qualification of the presbyter or bishop."^ Thus, in the pecu- 
liar work assigned them, " the deacons became the first 
preachers of Christianity; they were the first evangelists, 
because they were the first to find their way to the homes of 

1 Bennett: Christian Archeology, p. 330. 



8S THE INNER MISSION IN ITS MODERN FORM 

the poor. They were the constructors of the most soHd and 
durable of the institutions of Christianity, namely, the insti- 
tutions of charity and beneficence." ^ 

The purpose of the primitive diaconate may then be said 
to have been the following: i, To relieve the ministry of the 
Word of the more or less distracting cares incident to the 
external affairs of the Church, so that this might devote 
itself, without interruption, to its own proper and higher 
functions; 2, to provide a properly authorized and accredited 
agency for the administration of the Church's charities, and 
for the performance of such duties as might be assigned it 
by the presbyters; and thus, 3, to serve as one of the " helps " 
(i Cor. 12 : 28) of the ministry of the Word in the extension 
and building up of the Church, and to prepare the way for 
said ministry. 

The primitive diaconate was a congregational office for 
the administration of the congregation's charities. But as 
the hierarchical and sacerdotal principle gained ascendency 
in the Church, the position and functions of the deacons 
underwent a change. As some presbyters became " bishops " 
and all other presbyters " priests," the deacons came to be 
regarded as Levites, sustaining the same relation to the 
*' priests " as did the Levites to the priests of the old dis- 
pensation. Though continuing for quite a time to be dis- 
pensers of charity and visitors of those in distress, this be- 
came more and more a secondary function as institutions of 
mercy for the relief of the needy kept on multiplying. Fi- 
nally even this fell away, the congregational male diaconate 
as a ministry of mercy ceased to exist, and the deacons be- 
came a sub-order of the clergy. 

At a very early date women were also admitted to the 
diaconate. The necessity for this arose from the fact that 
" the strict seclusion of the female sex in Greece and in some 
Oriental countries necessarily debarred them from the minis- 
trations of men."^ Less than thirty years after the institu- 

' Stanlky: Christian Instilulions, pp. 210, 211. 
'LiGHTFOOT: The Christian Ministry. New York, p. 23. 



ITS ORGANS 89 

tion of the diaconate Paul speaks of one Phebe, " our sister, 
which is a servant (dcdxovoi) of the Church which is at 
Cenchrea " (Rom. 16 : i). He describes her office and work 
by saying that she had been a succorer of many and of him- 
self also; and therefore asks the Christia.ns at Rome to 
" receive her in the Lord, as become th saints," and to assist 
her in whatsoever she had need of them. Many distin- 
guished commentators agree that the directions given by 
Paul in I Tim. 3:11 refer not to the wives of the deacons, but 
to women deacons. Thus evidence does not seem to be 
wanting that long before the close of the first century the 
Church had a female as well as a male diaconate. 

Though the female diaconate appears to have spread with 
the growth of the Church, we find but a single reference to it 
between the apostolic age and the close of the third century. 
It is contained in the well-known letter of Pliny the Younger, 
Governor of Bithynia, to the Emperor Trajan, written soon 
after A. D. 100, in which he says: " In order to get at the 
truth of the matter {i. e., concerning the life and customs of 
the Christians) I deemed it necessary to put to the rack two 
maids, who are called ministrce (servants, deaconesses). 
But beyond a most corrupt and boundless superstition, 
I could extort nothing from them." 

The female diaconate reached its prime during the fourth 
century in the Eastern Church, and now references to it 
become frequent. Thus very full information regarding the 
qualifications, duties, etc., of deaconesses is found in that 
body of writings known as the Apostolic Constitutions. 
According to this document, faithful and holy women were 
to be appointed as deaconesses because the Church had need 
of them; and the bishop v/as to induct them into office by 
prayer^ and the laying on of hands, in the presence of the 

1 Ordination Prayer: " Eternal God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
the Creator of man and woman; Vv/'ho didst fill with the Spirit Miriam and 
Deborah, Hannah and Huldah; Who didst not disdain that Thine Only- 
begotten Son should be born of a woman; Who also in the tabernacle and 
in the temple didst appoint women-guardians of Thy holy gates : Do Thou 
also look on this Thy hand-maid, now being set apart unto service (eio- Sia/co- 
vi'av); grant unto her the Holy Spirit, and cleanse her from all defilement of 



90 THE INNER MISSION IN ITS MODERN FORM 

presbyters, the deacons, and the deaconesses. They were 
to instruct the female catechumens, render the necessary 
external assistance at their baptism, visit and relieve the 
sick and needy of their own sex, minister to the confessors 
in prison, prepare the bodies of women for burial, serve as 
doorkeepers at the women's entrances to the churches, 
assign women their places at worship, facilitate communica- 
tion between the bishop or presbyter and the female members 
of his congregation, and in general engage in all such works 
as heathen sentiment would not permit the deacons to do. • 

Under changed conditions, and especially with the growth 
of monasticism, the female diaconate began to decline soon 
after the close of the fourth century. By the ninth in the 
Western Church, and the thirteenth in the Eastern Church, it 
had practically ceased to exist. Only among the Waldenses 
and the Bohemian Brethren before the Reformation, and in 
some Mennonite congregations of Germany and Holland after 
the Reformation, did slight traces of it survive before its 
renewal by Fliedner in the first half of the last century. 

The diaconate of to-day, as an organ of the Inner Mission, 
is the same in purpose and character as that of the Early 
Church. It is a ministry of mercy in Christ's name to the 
needy of every kind; and it seeks to do its work in closest 
connection with the Church and her ministry of the Word. 
In form, however, it differs. It is no longer a congregational 
office, but exists in the form of voluntary associations, known 
as brotherhoods and sisterhoods, which in case of the latter 
remain permanently attached to their motherhouse. Thus 
in form the modern diaconate resembles such free associa- 
tions of mediaeval times as the Beghards and Beguines, and 
the Brethren and Sisters of the Common Life, or possibly, 
still more, the Sisters of Charity of more recent times; but 
without the delusion of work-righteousness found in these. 

the flesh and of the mind, that she may worthily' perform the work com- 
mitted to her, to the honor and the praise of Thy Christ, to Whom, with 
Thcc and the Holy Ghost, be glory and adoration, world without end. 
Amen." 







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ITS ORGANS 91 

a. The Modern Male Diaconate 

The male diaconate in its modern form had its beginning 
at the Rauhe Haus, Hamburg. There Wichern was the first 
to introduce the so-called " family system " into child-saving 
work. He would actualize as nearly as possible the Christian 
household with its wholesome atmosphere. As this neces- 
sitated a " housefather " for each group of ten or twelve 
children, he began the training of men not only for his own 
institution, but for Christian work elsewhere. Thus origin- 
ated the first Diakojten- or Bruderhaus. By 1845, twelve 
years after the opening of the Rauhe Haus, twenty-five such 
" brothers " were already at work in it, whilst no less than 
twenty-five others had been transferred to fields of labor 
elsewhere. In 1844 Fliedner fomided the Diakonenhaus 
in Duisburg. The cause was especially advanced by Karl 
Ulrich Kobelt of the institutions at Neinstedt (p. 76). 
To-day there are seventeen such Diakonenhaus er on German 
soil, with over 3000 brothers. 

The responsible head of a Diakonenhaus is an experienced 
pastor, who is aided, as circumstances require, by younger 
men who have had training in theology, and by experienced 
brothers. The more external affairs of the house are looked 
after by a board of managers. The institution serves both 
as a training-school and as a common center for the brother- 
hood. As a training-school it seeks, above all things, to 
develop strong Christian characters. The specific religious 
instruction, the churchly fife, and the spirit and atmosphere 
of the house are all made to contribute to this end. Among 
the more important general branches taught are arithmetic, 
book-keeping, composition, and singing, sometimes also 
instrumental music. To this is added a course on the history 
and work of the Inner Mission, with special reference to the 
history and work of the particular house in which the in- 
struction is given. All the Diakonenhaus er also afford ample 
opportunity for practical work of many kinds. 

Unlike the deaconesses, the deacons do not remain in the 



92 THE INNER MISSION IN ITS MODERN FORM 

same close connection with the house in which they were 
trained, as most of them marry and set up their own house- 
holds. Nevertheless their own training-school continues to 
be also the common center for the brotherhood of that house. 
The contract under which a brother goes to an out-station is 
mediated by the housefather; without the latter's knowledge 
and consent a brother does not change places; in case of 
misunderstandings and friction the housefather serves as the 
arbiter; but on the station to which the brother is called he 
is subject entirely to the local authorities. The connection 
between him and his house is, however, kept alive by means of 
letters, conferences, participation in anniversaries, visits of 
the housefather, etc. 

To be admitted to a Diakonenhaus a man must be between 
twenty and thirty years of age, no longer subject to military 
duty, unmarried and unaffianced, and of sound body and 
mind. A blameless Christian character, a fair measure of 
natural gifts, ^ and willingness to engage in the work of the 
Inner Mission with conscientious fidelity are, of course, in- 
dispensible prerequisites. Each applicant must furnish a 
sketch of his life, written by himself, reliable testimonials of 
character, especially from pastors, a physician's certificate, 
the written consent of parents, certificates of baptism and 
confirmation, and his army papers. The first few months 
after admission are regarded as a probationary period, 
which, if successfully passed, is followed by the regular 
course of training. This usually lasts about three years, 
after which the candidate is solemnly set apart for his work. 

The fields of labor in which deacons or brothers are en- 
gaged may be grouped under four heads: i, Those in which 
they are charged with the care of the sick and decrepit; 2, 
those in which they serve as housefathers of Christian inns, 
labor colonies, inebriate asylums, and the like; 3, those in 
which, as housefathers, they are also required to do a certain 
amount of teaching, as in child-saving institutions, homes for 
the feeble-minded, idiotic, and epileptic, and schools for the 

I Cf. Acts 6:3; I Tim. 3 : 8-10. 



ITS ORGANS 93 

deaf and dumb, the blind, and other defectives; 4, those in 
which they assist the ministry of the Word, as city, seamen's, 
and diaspora missionaries, colporteurs, etc. To meet these 
varying requirements some Diakonenhduser lay special stress 
upon this, others upon another kind of work; while, as a rule, 
nearly all are directly connected with some institution or 
institutions in which the candidates can obtain the largest 
measure of practice in the particular kind of work to which 
they may subsequently devote themselves. 

As no vows are exacted, a brother may relinquish his calling. 
Should he at any time prove himself unworthy, he is expelled 
from the brotherhood. Since 1876 the German Diakonen- 
hduser are associated in a union similar to the Kaiserswerth 
Union of Deaconess Houses.^ 



b. The Modern Female Diaconate 

Just as Wichern's name is indissolubly Hnked with the 
modern male diaconate, so that of Theodor Fliedner will 
always remain associated with the modern female diaconate. 
Though others (Pastor Klonne, Minister vom Stein, Amalie 
Sieveking, and von der Recke-VoUmarstein) had greatly 
desired the renewal of woman's ministry in the Church on an 
evangelical basis, and even suggested plans for bringing this 
about, it was Fliedner who accomplished the task and gave 
the revived female diaconate its present practical and efficient 
form. 

In the Early Church the female, like the male, diaconate was 
a congregational office. Those who were set apart to it 
were chosen from the congregation in which they were to 
serve; and beyond having the required spiritual and natural 
qualffications, they received no special training for their 
work. This is not the case to-day. Under the system 
introduced by FHedner the deaconess of the present is pre- 
pared for her calling in an institution known as the mother- 
house, and to this she remains permanently attached as a 

» For a list of Diakonenhdmer, see p. 236. 



94 THE INNER MISSION IN ITS MODERN FORM 

component part of a close community or sisterhood. It is 
by the motherhouse that she is assigned to her field of labor, 
and from the motherhouse that she gets her support. The 
motherhouse is at once her training-school and her home, 
her shelter when disabled, and her retreat in old age, should 
she remain in the work during life. 

The head of a motherhouse is a minister, who is both its 
pastor and rector or superintendent; and his associate, in 
the scriptural relation of the diaconate to the pastorate, and 
the woman to the man, is a Sister Superior (Oberin). To 
these is committed the internal management of the house. 
"It is one of the fundamental principles of the mother- 
houses that in their government the man and the woman, as 
divinely ordered, must supplement each other; because 
only where this is the case can a healthy diaconate be pos- 
sible, and those conditions be supplied vdthout which the 
female diaconate would have small value for churchly com- 
munities." ^ The pastor conducts the daily, Sunday, and 
festival services, gives much of the instruction, is the spiritual 
adviser of the sisters, consecrates them as deaconesses, 
transacts the house's business with outside authorities and 
associations, edits its periodicals and reports, serves as its 
chief representative, and is, above all, responsible for guiding 
its policy as a Christian and churchly institution. The 
Sister Superior concerns herself more especially with the 
practical training of the sisters, supervises and regulates their 
work, and looks after the general management of the house- 
hold. The one is the housefather, the other the house- 
mother; and just as in every well-regulated household many 
questions are decided jointly, so in a motherhouse. An 
altogether unique ofiice is that of the Teaching Sister {Probe- 
meisterin), who takes charge of the instruction and training 
of the candidates before they become regular probationers. 
The management of property and other external affairs is 
vested in a board in which the pastor and Sister Superior 
have a voice and vote. 

1 Wacker : The Deaconess Calling, p. 74. 



ITS ORGANS 95 

The terms of admission are practically the same in all 
motherhouses. The applicant must be between eighteen 
and thirty-six (in some motherhouses, forty) years of age, 
possessed of an unsullied Christian character, an intelligent 
mind capable of further development, and good physical 
health. Her application must be accompanied by a brief 
autobiography, the written consent of her parents, a testi- 
monial from her pastor, a physician's certificate, and her 
certificates of baptism and confirmation. 

The first year in the motherhouse, after some weeks or 
months of preliminary probation to test one's motives and 
fitness for the work, is largely devoted to study, though the 
educational and disciplinary value of a fair measure of prac- 
tical work during this time is by no means overlooked. The 
course of study includes the Holy Scriptinres, the doctrines, 
history, and cultus of the Church, and the history of the 
female diaconate and the exercise of mercy from apostolic 
times to the present day. Candidates who are deficient in 
the elementary branches also receive instruction in general 
history, geography, arithmetic, grammar, composition, 
needlework, and general housework. Much attention is 
given to singing, and subsequently to medical and surgical 
training, so that those who devote themselves more especially 
to the sick will also acquire the requisite knowledge and skill 
in this direction. 

At the conclusion of the course of study, usually at the 
end of the first year, the candidate who has so far really been 
only a pupil, enters upon the second stage of her preparation, 
namely, the practical. She is now invested with the special 
habit or dress of the probationer; with few exceptions, 
she ceases to receive specific theoretical instruction; during 
the years that follow she is expected to study and investi- 
gate for herself; and, to awaken the largest measure of 
personal interest and make her self-reliant, she is often 
placed in positions of greater or less responsibility. If 
after several years she gives sufficient evidence that she is 
both outwardly and inwardly well prepared; and if she has 



96 THE INNER MISSION IN ITS MODERN FORM 

the conviction that in giving herself to this work she is 
following an inward divine call, she is finally consecrated by 
prayer and the laying on of hands, and is henceforth a 
deaconess. At this solemn ceremony she makes no " vow " 
in the Romish sense, but only promises conscientious fidehty 
to the duties of her calling. She retains her evangelical 
liberty to retire from the sisterhood should circumstances 
make this necessary. 

As the work of a deaconess is of a kind that often makes 
large demands upon her spiritual resources, it is evident that 
from the very beginning close and constant attention must 
be given to the inner life. Hence every well-organized 
motherhouse seeks to nourish this life and to develop a strong 
Christian character by the beauty of its worship, the fre- 
quency and variety of its services, the abundant preaching 
and teaching of the Word, the frequent administration of 
the Holy Communion, and faithful pastoral care in private, 
so as to enable its sisters to meet discouragements, overcome 
difficulties, endure hardships, and retain their buoyancy and 
freshness of spirit. 

Experience has shown that thus far the institutional form 
of the female diaconate is not only the best, but the only 
possible form to secure permanent results.^ Even should the 
deaconess office again be restored in every congregation, the 
motherhouse would still remain indispensable. In these 
days, when the most extraordinary demands are made upon 

1 This is abundantly illustrated in the experiment made by Lohe, of Neuen- 
dettelsau. In 1853 he organized, on strictly confessional lines, the Lutheran 
Association for the Promotion of the Female Diaconate. This association, 
consisting of six women and eight clergymen, was to become the parent of 
numerous local and congregational societies, composed of properly qualified 
women, willing to devote themselves to the work of mercy in their own imme- 
diate locality, without being attached to a regularly organized motherhouse. 
But Lohe had on the one hand overestimated the readiness of the congrega- 
tions to respond, and had failed on the other to recognize the need of system- 
atic and uniform training and management. His project, therefore, ended 
in failure; and in the organization of the Neuendcttelsau Motherhouse, optMied 
by him, May 9, 1854, he felt himself compelled, in the main, to adopt the 
Kaiserswerth principles, though in many other respects he impressed uixm it 
the profound influence of his own personality. Regarding the need of tliorough- 
going organization, much may also l)e learned from the early history of the 
Elizabeth Motherhouse, at Berlin, founded by Gossncr. 



ITS ORGANS 97 

all classes of Christian workers, and when for successful 
work the highest degree of efficiency is necessary, the mother- 
house, with its well-developed organization, its churchly 
character, its systematic instruction, and its salutary disci- 
pline, can alone furnish to the Church such a body of well- 
trained women as she needs for really effective service. 

The ministry of a deaconess is pre-eminently a ministry 
of love and mercy, and her field of labor lies wherever sin 
has left its tracks and human needs call for relief. Her 
work is, therefore, multiform. She has in our day become 
especially prominent in the care of the sick, for the reason 
that woman's peculiar gifts, when properly directed, make her 
a most capable nurse. Hence fully one-half of the total 
number of deaconesses are found at work in hospitals, homes 
for the aged and infirm, institutions for the feeble-minded 
and epileptic, etc. Another group of deaconess' labors may 
be spoken of as being chiefly educational. Of this kind is the 
work in day nurseries, little children's schools, girls' schools, 
industrial schools, and schools for the training of domestics. 
A third group, combining in a measure the nursing and 
educational features, is represented in the work done in 
connection with the fallen, or with those whose moral, mental, 
and even physical well-being is endangered by their surround- 
ings. Such service is rendered in reformatories, Magdalen 
homes, prisons, shelters, and hospices. 

Necessary and important as is the work in institutions, a 
still wider field of usefulness lies open to the deaconess in the 
parish. It is in this field that all the capabilities of a sister 
are called into most active play, and that, in connection with 
and under the direction of the pastoral office, she has the 
most abundant opportunities for the exercise of her specific 
ministry. It will be a blessed day indeed, and will help to 
solve many problems, when the female diaconate, as in the 
Early Church, is again incorporated into the organism of the 
congregation. Here, as perhaps nowhere else, will its work 
tell in numberless directions, and even the unbelieving be 
made to see that Christianity is a life and not a mere belief! 



98 THE INNER MISSION IN ITS MODERN FORM 

To the late Rev. W. A. Passavant, D. D., belongs the 
credit of having made the first attempt to transplant the 
female diaconate to American soil. He visited Kaisers- 
werth in 1846, studied the work inaugurated by FHedner, 
saw some of its beneficent results, and resolved to begin 
similar work in his own land and city. Having come to 
an agreement with Fliedner for a number of sisters, he 
returned to Pittsburgh, and in the spring of 1848 rented a 
house in Allegheny for the purpose of establishing a deaconess 
hospital. Being subsequently obliged to move, he secured 
another property in Pittsburgh. On the 17th of July, 1849, 
Fliedner himself having arrived with four sisters, this new 
place was solemnly consecrated as an " Infirmary for the 
sick, and a Motherhouse for the training of Christian deacon- 
esses for hospitals, asylums, and congregations in other parts 
of the United States." For various reasons the hopes enter- 
tained concerning this first American motherhouse were 
never realized. Only one probationer was subsequently 
consecrated, and thus matters remained until the motherhouse 
in connection with the Milwaukee Hospital, which was 
likewise founded by Dr. Passavant, became an accomplished 
fact in the early nineties. 

A second, and this time successful, effort to introduce the 
female diaconate in America was made when, in 1884, a 
colony of seven German sisters was brought to Philadelphia 
to take charge of the German Hospital. Here, on the 6th 
of December, 1888, the beautiful Mary J. Drexel Home and 
Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses, erected and 
equipped through the munificent liberality of Mr. John D. 
Lankenau, was dedicated, and to-day serves not only as the 
training-school and home of a large body of sisters, but also 
houses an old people's home, a children's hospital, a 
Christian kindergarten, a training-school for Christian 
kindergartners, and a dispensary, and in addition conducts 
the Lankenau School for Girls in separate buildings. Since 
the work was inaugurated here it has taken root in other 
parts of the Lutheran Church in America, as well as in some 




Deaconess Motherhouse 




Hospital 





Layton Home The Rectory 

The Institutions at Milwaukee, Wis. 



ITS ORGANS 99 

of the other ecclesiastical bodies of the land, though in the 
latter with some serious modifications.^ 



2. Associations 

In the twelfth chapter of i Corinthians the apostle de- 
scribes the ideal working Church as an organism in which 
those who compose it are "not isolated and independent 
units," but are, like the members of the human body, "mu- 
tually interdependent," each using his particular gift, talent, 
or station for the common good of all. Were this ideal 
fully realized there would be no need of special organiza- 
tions within the Church; but because it is not, such organ- 
izations cannot be dispensed with. Hence the missionary, 
Church extension, Bible, and other societies that have in 
course of time come into existence. 

Successful effort in any undertaking requires the con- 
joint activity of those who are specially interested in it, and 
who make it an object of close study, earnest prayer, and 
unremitting endeavor. Upon this principle have come into 
being the numerous Inner Mission societies. In all the work 
of the Inner Mission the intelligent, consecrated, willing 
person is of the first importance. Those who undertake it 
must live for it and in it; and only those are likely to under- 
take it who, like the Good Samaritan, have had their hearts 
stirred by what they have seen and learned to know. Large 
ecclesiastical bodies, not always to a man fully realizing the 
need, must satisfy many minds, are often divided on ques- 
tions, and are consequently slow to move; while boards ap- 
pointed by these are liable to be composed of persons who 
have other interests, who often know little of the work com- 
mitted to them, and whose service is, therefore, half-hearted 
and perfunctory. Far better does it seem, therefore, that 
those who have been touched by certain needs, who are 
like-minded, and whose hearts are aglow for service, should 
do their own organizing; or, in other words, that most forms 

» For Motherhouse statistics, see pp. 231-235. 



lOO THE INNER MISSION IN ITS MODERN FORM 

of Inner Mission work should be carried on through the 
medium of free associations. Let Council and Synods 
suggest, and Conferences and congregations discuss, but let 
the work itself take such form as may be most expedient, 
and as will enlist the best forces in its behalf. 

Besides these advantages the free association serves vari- 
ous other purposes. Through its meetings and discussions 
it becomes an educating medium and an inspirational force 
for its members, inasmuch as in every such body are to 
be foimd one or more persons whose special studies and 
extended experience give their opinions and utterances the 
weight of authority. The free association, moreover, 
stands for one definite object, represents that object before 
the public, and provides the means for its support. The 
latter may indeed often be the leading function of large 
associations. A large membership does not always mean 
a large actual working force. Great power is not the neces- 
sary corollary of great numbers. Quite the contrary. The 
actual planning, directing, and doing by which those influ- 
ences are set in motion that lead to vast results is, as a rule, 
the work of one or a few persons of deep insight, broad out- 
look, and great spiritual power, around whom the association 
gathers, and to whom it brings its support (Wichern, Flied- 
ner, Lohe, von Bodelschwingh, Passavant). 

To avoid the danger of becoming latitudinarian and 
separatistic the free association must in confessional basis 
and tendency be thoroughly churchly. In other words, 
it must be in and of the Church. The disastrous experience 
of a number of American deaconess houses organized on 
an inter-denominational basis amply demonstrates the 
futility of endeavoring to do effective Inner Mission work 
on any other than that of confessional agreement and a cor- 
rect and sound churchly practice. 

In the history of the Inner Mission the Central Committee 
for the Inner Mission of the German Evangelical Church ^ 
has from the beginning occupied a highly prominent place. 

' See pp. II, 68. 



ITS ORGANS lOI 

Until disabled by disease Wichern himself was its leading 
spirit and representative. To the influence and direct 
cooperation of this Committee many of the other important 
associations and unions owe their origin. Since 1849 this 
same Committee has arranged for and held thirty-three 
Inner Mission Congresses, and in connection with each a 
special conference for workers in particular departments of 
Inner Mission labor, thus disseminating a vast amount of 
information, and awakening a lively interest in the cause in 
all parts of Germany. Through its traveling agents the 
Committee has helped to promote old and new Inner Mis- 
sion activities; and though numerous provincial and local 
associations now take care of the work in their own territory, 
the Central Committee has not ceased to be a potent force 
in the general work. 

Especially powerful has been the influence of the Central 
Committee through its numerous publications. The first 
of these was Wichern's Denkschrift (1849); ^.nd among the 
more important ones since then are the proceedings of the 
various Inner Mission Congresses. 

The members of the Central Committee are scattered 
all over Germany. Its business affairs are conducted by 
the members residing in Berlin, who meet, as an Executive 
Committee, once a month. This Committee regiilarly 
receives reports from numerous societies and institutions. 
These, together with its own proceedings, it pubHshes every 
month in a summarized bulletin, for distribution.^ 

The first Lutheran Inner Mission society in America was 
organized in Philadelphia, May 9, 1902. Since then similar 
societies have been formed in New York, Pittsburgh, Chicago, 
and Minneapolis. 

' For a list of general and special associations, unions, etc., see Statistik der 
Inneren Mission der deutschen Evangelischen Kirche, BerKn, Central-Aus- 
schuss, 1899, pp. 355-369; Schafer: Leitfaden der Inneren Mission^ 4th 
ed. Hamburg, 1903, pp. 405-410. 



I02 THE INNER MISSION IN ITS MODERN FORM 

3. Institutions 

The institutions of the Inner Mission have not inaptly 
been called its workshops. It is in these that the purposes 
of many of the associations find their realization. Some 
of them are altogether indispensable, while others are to be 
regarded only as temporary abodes and makeshifts. Of the 
former kind are those for the spiritual and technical training 
of Inner Mission workers, namely, the Deaconess Houses and 
the Diakonenh'duser ; also all those that provide a permanent 
place of abode for the homeless and friendless aged, incurable, 
crippled, etc. Of a different character are the institutions 
whose chief purpose is the cure of moral and physical ills. 
To this class belong child-saving institutions, reformatories, 
Magdalen homes, inebriate asylums, hospitals, etc. These 
are not meant to be permanent homes, but only a passing 
means to an end. In the case of the imperiled and fallen 
this end is the development of a stable Christian character; 
in that of the sick their restoration to health under influences 
that at the same time will also bring a benefit to the soul. 
The need for institutions of this kind arises from abnormal 
conditions in the family and in society. The more nearly 
the family and society approach the ideal state, and the more 
completely they fulfil their God-given obligations, the less 
will such institutions be required. 

The internal administration of all Inner Mission institu- 
tions should invariably be committed to persons who have 
made a study of the Inner Mission subject, and who, if pos- 
sible, have had some experience in the particular branch of 
work to which they are called. Besides having the requisite 
knowledge and natural qualifications, they must, of course, 
possess a strong, well-rounded Christian character that does 
not easily yield to discouragements, and that by its very 
example will help to mold the character of others. Given 
the right kind of person or persons at the head of an institu- 
tion, having clear and sound views as to the policy it ought 
to pursue, boards and associations should not interfere witli 



ITS ORGANS 103 

its strictly internal affairs, but should hold themselves respon- 
sible chiefly for its material well-being. 

4. Official Representatives 

By official representatives are meant those who serve the 
Inner Mission in the capacity of leaders. Schafer distin- 
guishes five groups of these: 1, Clergymen who serve as 
pastors and rectors of institutions, chiefly of Diakonen and 
Deaconess Houses; to an extent also of other institutions 
having an educational character, like houses of refuge, 
institutions for the deaf and dumb, the idiotic, etc.; 2, 
clerg>Tiien whose specialty is the promotion of some par- 
ticular branch of Inner Mission work, e. g., that of Bible 
societies, prison societies, etc., and for which men are chosen 
not so much on account of the superior pastoral qualifications 
required in heads of institutions as for their ability to pre- 
sent their cause effectively in sermons and public addresses; 
3, clergymen who direct the work of city missions; 4, clergy- 
men who, as general secretaries of associations, travel from 
place to place to present the Inner Mission cause over an 
entire province or country; 5, candidates for the ministry 
who, under the oversight and direction of those mentioned 
in groups i to 4, aid these in their work.^ 

In a restricted sense the term " official representative " 
(Vereinsgeistlicher) is often applied only to those designated 
in group 4. A clergyman serving in this capacity must be 
the Inner Mission specialist in his territory. He must 
have a theoretical and practical understanding of the sub- 
ject, be accurately informed on the conditions and needs of 
his field, keep in close touch with the pastors of his province, 
be able to give needed advice, information, and aid, espe- 
cially when new work is to be undertaken, and thus, so to say, 
be the incarnation of the association's purposes. He needs, 
moreover, to be a man of wide outlook, good judgment, and 
entire consecration; a quick worker, a ready speaker, and a 

1 See Schafer: Leiifaden der Inner en Mission, 4th ed., p. 375. 



I04 THE INNER MISSION IN ITS MODERN FORM 

cultured gentleman. Nevertheless amid the multiplicity 
of his labors he must always manage to find time for intellec- 
tual and spiritual growth. The first such representative 
was appointed by the Rhenish Provincial Association at 
Langenberg in 1849.^ As the number increased a Confer- 
ence was formed which met in Magdeburg in 1870, in Leipzig 
in 1874, and in Hanover in 1878. In 188 1 this Conference 
was reorganized and enlarged so as to include official repre- 
sentatives of every kind, and this now meets every two 
years, alternating with the Inner Mission Congress. 

A most valuable means for disseminating information and 
winning new recruits for the work are the so-called In- 
strucHonskurse, corresponding to our American Summer 
Schools. The first was given in Berlin in 1886, and since 
then a long series of such " Courses " have been held in all 
parts of Germany, lasting in each case from eight to fourteen 
days, attended by pastors, theological students, members 
of boards, and others, and covering in the instruction almost 
every phase of the Inner Mission subject. Not a few pro- 
fessors of theology likewise treat the subject in their lectures; 
and the time seems near at hand when it will be a fully recog- 
nized and regularly taught branch of Practical Theology. 
In America this is already the case in the Theological Semi- 
naries of the Evangelical Lutheran Church at Chicago, Phila- 
delphia, and Columbus, O. 

5. Volunteer Helpers 

The official administration of charity in the Apostolic 
Church by deacons and deaconesses by no means operated 
to exclude others from participation in the labor of Christian 
love. The very life of the Church throughout was a life 
of self-sacrificing love. The first believers at Jerusalem 
" had all things common, neither said any of them that 
ought of the things which he possessed was his own " (Acts 

'For a list of the so-called " ThcoloRischc Rcnifsarhcitcr" in i8q8 see 
Statistik der Inncrcn Mission, pp. 374-3S2. Since then some changes have 
taken place, but later complete statistics are not at hand. 



ITS ORGANS 105 

2 : 44; 4 : 32). When this same congregation afterward came 
to be in great distress, their need was suppUed by other 
churches (Rom. 15 : 26; 2 Cor. 8 : 1-3; 9 : 2, 12). Brethren 
and strangers bore witness before the Church of the charity 
of Gains (3 John 5, 6). Aquila and Priscilla are of Paul 
called his " helpers in Christ Jesus " (Rom. 16 : 3). He tells 
us that Euodias and Syntyche labored with him in the Gospel 
(Phil. 4 : 2, 3); and that Tryphena, Tryphosa, and Persis 
''labored much in the Lord" (Rom. 16 : 12). Stephanas 
and his household " addicted themselves to the ministry 
of the saints " (i Cor. 16 : 15); and Tabitha was a woman 
" full of good works and almsdeeds which she did " (Acts 
9 : 36-42). In all these, sincere love of their Lord enkindled 
glowing zeal for service. So should it be among believers 
to-day. The presence of a deaconess in a congregation 
or the existence of an institution in a community must not 
blight individual endeavor. Rather let these and what they 
represent incite to greater zeal and increased effort. Even 
the possessor of the one talent is to put it to use, much more 
so those who have received two or five. 



6. Material Support 

Though properly qualified persons and not things are the 
first and essential requisite in Inner Mission work, money 
for its support speedily becomes a very necessary factor. 
How shall this be obtained? 

Some point to the example of Ludwig Harms and George 
Mliller, and say: " Ask the Lord only, as did these, and then 
wait believingly for His help." Not so St. Paul. That 
man of great faith, whose epistles constantly testify to the 
need and value of prayer, did not hesitate in the least to 
invite contributions for the needy saints at Jerusalem 
(Rom. 15 : 25-28; I Cor. 16 : 1-4; 2 Cor. chaps. 8 and 9; 
Gal. 2 : 10), and even gave minute directions as to the manner 
of giving (i Cor. 16 : 2; 2 Cor. 9:7; 8 : 12; Rom. 12 : 8). 
Indeed he and his fellow-laborers themselves undertook the 



Io6 THE INNER MISSION IN ITS MODERN FORM 

work of collecting, and devoted a large measure of time to it. 
Thus " the greatest of theologians, the profoundest of think- 
ers, the most skilful and conclusive of reasoners, the most 
aggressive of missionaries, combined with these distinctions 
the highest qualities as an organizer and as a thoroughly- 
practical business man. The most careful attention to 
details and the most exquisite tact are displayed in his 
conduct of the measures needed to supply the wants of the 
impoverished Christians at Jerusalem. As a minister of the 
Gospel and even as an Apostle, he did not hesitate to under- ' 
take, when the call was pressing, what may be regarded as 
the secular side of church work; and to whatever he under- 
took, he devoted himself with all the concentration of energy, 
persistency of purpose, and earnest thought that distin- 
guished him in other spheres. His faith in no way paralyzed, 
but only stimulated his attention to system and close study 
of the adaptability of various plans to the attainment of his 
end. Every plan of Paul is flexible, and seeks to adapt itself 
to circumstances of time and place, and the pecuHarities of 
those with whom he had to deal." ^ 

The example of Paul sufficiently indicates how the material 
support of all Inner Mission undertakings is to be secured. 
Praying and working mmst go together. Wichern and 
Fliedner and Passavant and many others were not less be- 
lieving because they asked men as well as God for a portion 
of this world's goods for their work, and added many weari- 
some journeys and incessant toils to their prayers. There 
is also a business side to the affairs of the kingdom of God; 
and he is most likely to obtain the divine blessing in answer 
to his prayers who also knows hov/ to touch hearts and to win 
confidence by a straight-forvrard, honest presentation of 
his cause, and its methodical, economical, and business-like 
management. 

It is then the principle of free-will offerings as laid down by 
the Lord Himself (Luke 6 : 35, 38), and emphasized by the 

'Jacobs: The Lutheran Commentary: Annotations on i Corinthians, 
p. 147- 




Deaconess Hospital at Jerusalem 




Deaconess House Bethesda Hospital Old People's Home 

S^VEDISH Institutions at St. Paul, Minn. 



ITS ORGANS 107 

Apostle that must be observed in seeking the means for 
Inner Mission work. With this principle many of the 
methods in vogue to-day for raising funds for church and 
charitable purposes are absolutely in conflict. As little as a 
congregation can afford to do so, so little can an Inner Mis- 
sion institution, if it wishes to preserve its Christian char- 
acter and spiritual life, afford to fill its treasury from the 
proceeds of fairs, bazaars, charity balls, and the like. 

Some Inner Mission institutions, like hospices and Ber- 
ber gen, are in whole or in part self-sustaining; others derive 
some of their support from various industries connected with 
them; but in the end the bulk of the means for most of them 
must come from free-will offerings ; and the larger the number 
of contributors to any given cause, the greater is the prob- 
ability of its permanent maintenance. 

Summary. — Among the organs of the Inner Mission the 
professional workers (clergymen, deacons, and deaconesses) 
are the regulars; the numerous large and small associations 
furnish the volunteers and the material support; the insti- 
tutions provide the fields of labor and the tools.^ 

» SCHAPER. 



PART SECOND 



FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 

I. The Propagation of the Gospel 

Though the Church must ever demonstrate her faith by 
her love, and neglect no opportunity to minister to men in all 
their needs, her first concern must be for men's spiritual 
well-being. The means committed to her for bringing this 
about is the Gospel. Hence the Inner Mission, in all its 
work, gives the pre-eminence to the Word as the instrument 
employed by the Holy Ghost to edify, strengthen, and pre- 
serve behevers, arouse the indifferent, admonish the im- 
penitent, and lift up the fallen; and to disseminate the Word 
as widely as possible it makes use of various channels and 
agencies. 

a. Evangelization 

It is in his Denkschrift that Wichern makes the now famous 
remark that the Gospel must again be preached from the 
housetops. " It must be freely offered and magnified in the 
market-places and on the streets, if the masses cannot be 
reached in any other way; and this must be done in a fresh, 
vigorous, stimulating manner, so that all may again hear 
the preached Word, and that what has to thousands become 
something antiquated and useless, may again have a chance to 
become their new and precious possession. Whatever else 
may be done to reach the masses, there are thousands to 
whom no other way is open, because market-place and street 
are their habitat. This is especially true of the large cities, 
108 



PROPAGATION OF THE GOSPEL 109 

and of that class of laborers who, like the workmen on rail- 
roads, constitute a species of wandering colonies. Our 
Church must have its itinerant and street preachers; col- 
porteurs and the printed Word should precede and follow or 
accompany these, so that the Word may become effective 
in sermon, in conversation, and in printed form. According 
to the principles we have already enunciated, and in the very 
nature of the case it is, of course, evident that such preachers 
would not be expected to organize new congregations. Their 
task would be to win back into the ranks of the living members 
of the organized congregation those who have fallen away; 
to stand, as it were, before the church doors and give the 
invitation to enter; to proclaim the saving Gospel with fer- 
vent love to the neglected masses; to awaken the desire for 
renewed fellowship with the commimion of saints in whom 
Christ dwells only to bless; to set forth the satisfaction to be 
found in such fellowship; and to point again to the ever- 
ready Table of the Lord. Thus would such preachers in 
reahty cooperate with settled pastors and promote their 
work; and the need for them would diminish in proportion 
as congregations and the Church gained in spiritual health."^ 

Elsewhere in the Denkschrift Wichern declares that it 
must be the final aim of the organized Church and the Inner 
Mission to see to it that in the end there be not one within 
the bounds of the entire evangelical Church to whom the pure 
Word of God has not come in the manner best suited to him, 
and to whom, even without his desire, the opportunity to hear it 
has not been ofered? Again, at another place, he says: "If 
the proletarians no longer seek the Church, the Church must 
begin to seek them, and not rest imtil she has found them 
with the saving Word." ^ 

How to revive those who were once of the Church but 
who have become indifferent, and reach the large number 
within Christendom who have never had any connection 
whatever with the Church, has always been a most per- 

* Gesammelte Schriften. Vol. iii, pp. 324, 325. 

* Ibid, p. 307. 2 Ibid, p. 229. 



no FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 

plexing problem. In suggesting itinerant and street preach- 
ers Wichern had in mind the evangelists of the Apostolic 
Church^ (Acts 21:8; Eph. 4:11; 2 Tim. 4:5), who, as travel- 
ing missionaries, charismatically endowed, and as the assist- 
ants of the apostles and chiefly under their direction, went 
about from place to place preaching the Gospel, or Evangel, 
of our Lord Jesus Christ, now to those who were still strangers 
to it, then again to those who had already embraced it. 
But the ideal which Wichern had before his mind has never 
yet been realized. With the question of an adequate agency 
for reaching the masses still unsolved, it is not surprising 
that amid the rapidly changing conditions of modern life 
the Church has lost her hold upon large numbers whom she 
could once claim as her own, and that to thousands of others 
she has never stood in the relation of a spiritual mother.- 

In Protestant Germany, where everyone is presumed to 
be baptized and confirmed, and thus to be at least in the 
external communion of the Church, evangelization has for 
its purpose the reclamation of the lapsed and the vivification 
of the lukewarm. It is thus, when properly conducted, in 
the truest sense Inner Mission, i. e., mission within the 
Church. The great need for such work becomes apparent 
when it is remembered that in Germany there are large 
numbers in all the ranks of society who, under the influence 
of rationalistic and socialistic teachings, have lost all interest 

> "For the solution of this problem we again need evangelists, just as in 
apostolic times these, e. g., preceded the apostles into Samaria, and were 
their pioneers in the extension of the kingdom of God." — Gesammclic Schriften. 
Vol. iii, p. 1 1 74. 

2 Thus, to speak only of our own land, it is estimated that in 1908, out of a 
population of about 85,000,000 in the United States, 51,954,858 were in some 
way identified with the various churches and religious societies, evangelical, 
non-evangelical, Roman Catholic, etc. Of this number 22,187,887 were 
counted as Protestant communicants, and 8,373,975 as Roman Catholic. 
This, according to the rule laid down by the United States religious census 
agent, would indicate a Protestant population of all shades of 37,719,407, and 
a Roman Catholic population of 14,235,451. In other words, out of a total 
estimated population of 85,000,000 only 30, 561, 082, including Roman Catho- 
lics, are communicants, while 33,000,000 have no alTiliation whatever with 
any part of the Christian Church. -See Art. by Dr. NiruM: Lutheran Church 
Review, July, 1909. The statistics for 1910 do uot materially change the 
proportions. 



PROPAGATION OF THE GOSPEL III 

in the Church, and who, in many cases, actually despise 
God's Word and the preaching of the Gospel. And the said 
need assumes still larger proportions in view of the Church's 
inadequate provision to meet it. For really effective work 
there are neither enough churches nor pastors. Especially 
is this the case in the large cities where parishes are often 
found numbering from 30,000 to 75,000 souls, with only 
three or four pastors to care for them. Adding to this the 
further circumstance that over against these abnormal con- 
ditions the State Churches, with their differing tendencies 
in doctrine and practice, can present no united front, it 
ceases to be a matter of surprise that those in whose hearts 
the Gospel is a living power are casting about for a remedy. 

The really satisfactory remedy has, however, not yet been 
found. What is to-day known in Germany as evangeliza- 
tion does not differ very widely from similar movements in 
England and America. Indeed, we may trace the first 
strong impulse it received to the meetings held by Moody 
and others in Great Britain and the United States during 
the seventh and eighth decades of the last century. Besides 
various pastors who have been active along similar lines 
(Schrenk, von Schliimbach, Keller, Paul, Rappard, and 
others), the chief promoters of evangelization to-day are 
the Komitee fur evangelische Gemeinschaftspflege (1890), 
the Eisenacher Bund (1905), the Gnadauer Konferenz (1888), 
the Blankenhurger Konferenz (1886), and the Kirchlich- 
soziale Konferenz; but with the exception of the second and 
last named, the general tendency of these directing bodies 
may be said to be separatistic and sectarian, and hence 
they do not receive much encouragement from the conserva- 
tive and confessional elements of the Church. 

Evangelistic effort in Germany has resulted m the so- 
called Gemeinschaftsbewegung; i. e., those who have come 
under its influence have formed themselves into numerous 
small unions after the manner of the conventicles of the 
Pietistic period, which meet, as a rule, once a week, mostly 
in private houses, for the study of God's Word and prayer. 



112 FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 

By far the greater number owe their existence to laymen, 
and over two-thirds are conducted by laymen. Regarding 
these unions widely different views are expressed. On the 
one hand it is maintained that they are the best protection 
against sectarianism, that those who belong to them become 
the most faithful and active members of the Church, and that 
they serve as an aid to the pastor and as a quickening leaven 
in the congregation. On the other hand they are accused 
of begetting spiritual pride, doctrinal laxity, and indifference 
toward the organized Church to such an extent as to make 
them a travesty on true religion, and that thus sectarianism 
finds in them the best soil. With such divergent \dews on 
the subject it is evident that Protestant Germany has not 
yet discovered a generally satisfactory way of reaching and 
reviving the lapsed and indifferent members of the Church;^ 
nor is it likely that, as a most important branch of Inner 
Mission work, Wichern had in mind any such form of evan- 
gelization as has hitherto been current in Germany.^ Hence 

1 "The picture which German conditions in this respect disclose is a most 
extraordinarily variegated, and indeed almost bewildering one. Who can tell 
what the outcome will be!" — SchXfer: Leitfaden der Inneren Mission, 4th 
ed., p. 172. 

2 "The one thing against which not only this but every ether work of the 
Church must be guarded is that the Church and what belongs to her be not 
injured, either by false doctrine or by anything else which might disturb a 
healthy piety. Viewed from this standpoint, itinerant preaching, if it does not 
at once occasion apprehension, may after all degenerate into a form which we 
distinctly repudiate. The thing to be especially avoided is the emotional, 
fear-inspiring method of the anxious bench. With this sort of Inner Mission 
our Church can have nothing in common. . . . Our Church disavows 
every species of false legalism; and this principle will be safeguarded so long 
as justification by faith remains the heart of her teaching, and \o\e and the 
labor of love rest upon this foundation. This not only guarantees the Church's 
existence and the genuineness of her piety, but upon this foundation saving 
love, whether it come in sermon or deed, must also be able so to unfold and 
fashion itself as to lead to the goal we have in view, viz., the bringing of the 
Word of life to those who do not seek and hear it. It is in this sense that we 
speak of itinerant and street preachers." — Dcnkschrift, p. 32^; Gcsaniwclie 
Schriften. Vol. iii. — .^nd again: "If the Inner Mission would remain what 
it is, it must hold fast to the foundations and jirinciplcs laid down in the teach- 
ings and practice of the purified Church of the Reformation. It is funda- 
mentally opposed to all heresies and false doctrine, and can hoix* for the fulfill- 
ment of the divine promises only as it remains true to the pure doctrines of the 
Divine Word. Just .so on its active side. It would sjieak its own condemnation, 
and cease to be genuine Inner Mission, if its practical work should require 
living Christians to separate themselves from the Church, and should load to 
any .sort of sectarianism." — Gcsammdtc Sclirif/en. Vol. iii, p. 051. 



PROPAGATION OF THE GOSPEL II3 

the remark of Schafer: "So much is certain, that the Inner 
Mission has Httle to do with it." Within the last few years, 
however, pastors have here and there, with the sanction of 
the ecclesiastical authorities, undertaken evangelistic work 
along churchly and confessional lines. 

The efforts put forth in our own land to reach the so-called 
" masses " are various. Tent meetings, theater services, 
slum missions, periodic revivals conducted by professional 
evangelists, and, above all, the extensive movements in- 
augurated by Moody and his imitators, chiefly have this one 
purpose in view. But aside from the sporadic character of 
most of these efforts, and the very small number out of the 
vast multitude who are savingly influenced by them, the 
methods followed are, as a rule, not of a kind to lead to 
serious reflection, a living faith, and genuine amendment of 
life. Experience has again and again demonstrated that 
when the temporary excitement is over, the last estate of 
those among whom it was had is worse than the first. It 
would seem then that no large and permanent results can be 
achieved without persistent and sustained effort, according 
to methods that are at once Scriptural and adapted to the 
peculiar needs of those to be served. (See Section on City 
Missions, p. 116.) 

What applies to the city in a great measure also applies 
to the country. There may be less, far less, poverty and vice 
in the country, but in many sections not less spiritual ig- 
norance. Investigations made in many parts of the United 
States prove that there are numerous rural districts of large 
dimensions in which there are few churches, no Sunday- 
schools, and a non-church-going population of more than 
50 per cent. Into localities like these spiritual light and life 
can likewise only be brought by the steady, faithful labor 
of self-denying missionaries and colporteurs sent out by church 
boards and well-established, flourishing congregations. 

But when there is a dearth of such laborers a thousand 
opportunities may be found in city and country for utilizing 
the gifts of consecrated and willing laymen. Where the 



114 FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 

need is so great, no good reason can be assigned why a man who 
is well-grounded in God's Word, whose heart glows with love, 
and who has other qualifications to recommend him, should 
be restrained from communicating the truth that has made 
him free when this cannot be done by the regularly estabHshed 
ministry. That there is good Scriptural authority for lay 
preaching cannot be denied. To prepare the way for Him, 
and later probably to be among the " helps " of the apostles, 
our Lord sent seventy of His disciples " before His face into 
every city and place, whither He himself would come " 
(Luke 10 : i). When the violent persecution which followed 
the death of Stephen dispersed the congregation at Jerusalem 
" they that were scattered abroad went about preaching 
the Word " (Acts 8:4; 11 : 19-21); and it is certain that 
through the labors of some of these at least one church, that 
at Antioch, in Asia Minor, came into existence (Acts 11 : 19- 
21). " It is clear," says Hatch, " from both the Acts of the 
Apostles and St. Paul's Epistles, that ' liberty of prophesy- 
ing ' prevailed in the apostolic age. It is equally clear that 
it existed after the apostolic age."^ Thus we read in the 
Apostolic Constitutions: " Even if a teacher be a layman, if 
he be skilled in word, and reverent in manner, let him teach. "^ 
Lay preaching also found a defender in Luther, when cer- 
tain extraordinary circumstances seemed to make it necessary. 
Though in his polemical writings against the fanatics he 
insisted most strenuously on the requirement that ordinarily 
no one should preach publicly who had not been regularly 
called, he would nevertheless, as he says elsewhere, allow 
any one who has the gift to do so where the pure Word is not 
taught or where there is no one to preach at all. In support 
of this contention he appeals to the example of Stephen 
(Acts 6), and of Philip (Acts 8), and especially of Apollos 
(Acts 18 : 24 ff), who, without a mediate call, preached the 
Gospel by virtue of the general right of all believers (i Cor. 
14 : 31; I Peter 2:9). In his sermon on the Epistle for 

' Organization of the Early Church, pp. ii6, 117. 
* Book VIII., 32, p. 495. American ed. 



PROPAGATION OF THE GOSPEL II5 

St. Stephen's Day he says: " Here the question arises whether 
a layman may also preach. . . . The example of Stephen 
clearly indicates that any one may do so wherever there are 
those who will hear, but not when the apostles themselves 
are present."^ And again in another place: " A Christian, 
impelled by brotherly love, regards the distress of poor 
souls, and does not wait to see whether instructions or letters 
of authority may be given him by princes or bishops, since 
necessity breaks all laws. Love is in duty bound to help 
where there is no one else to do so." ^ 

Service of this kind could in these days be made eminently 
useful and productive of much good in many ways and places, 
but to avoid abuses it would have to be properly regulated. 
Only such men should be permitted to engage in it as are 
possessed of superior spiritual and natural endowments, and 
concerning whose confessional soundness there can be no 
doubt. These should then do their work in closest afi&liation 
with the established ecclesiastical authorities and the regular 
ministry of the Church, and at such places, such times, and 
in such manner as might be designated for them. 

The employment, under careful guardianship, of such lay 
help as an aid to the pastoral office, seems to be one of the 
urgent demands of the present, if the Church is to be in the 
fullest sense a missionary Church as in the beginning. To 
this end she should, like the Early Church, utilize to the 
utmost those of her members whom the Holy Ghost has 
endowed with special gifts. To do so is altogether in harmony 
with the doctrine of the universal priesthood of believers; 
and the principle has again and again been recognized by 
the Lutheran Church in the employment of so-called " cate- 
chists " at home and in heathen lands. 

' Sdmmtliche Werke, ist Erlangen ed. Vol. vii, p. 220. 
^Ibid. Vol. xxii, p, 147. See also KosTLiN: The Theology of Luther. 
Vol. ii, pp. 86-90. 



Il6 FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 



b. City Missions 

Next to the conversion of the heathen world, the Church's 
great missionary problem to-day is, beyond question, the 
problem of the city. In the large cities we find the best and 
the worst of everything side by side; here the mightiest forces 
are at work for the making or the unmaking of the individual; 
and from these centers go forth the most powerful influences 
for good or evil into the life of a nation. So thoroughly did 
the apostles of our Lord understand this truth that they began 
their missionary operations in the chief cities of their day. 

In our own land the cities are with giant strides becoming 
an increasingly influential factor, and perhaps nowhere else 
outside of the heathen world is the missionary problem so 
difficult of solution. Their phenomenally rapid growth;^ 
their heterogeneous population as regards race, nationality, 
and religion;^ the frequently inadequate housing accommo- 
dations, which, with expanding population and extortionate 
rents, forces thousands into the tenement and the slmn; the 
physical and moral ills entailed by the disappearance of the 
home and abnormal living conditions;^ our intensely busy 
life, and the exacting demands of our present industrial 
organization; the long hours of labor and the incessant grind 
for the barest living, often at wages out of all proportion to 
the service rendered;* the temptations and vices to which old 

» See Strong: The Challenge of the City, p. i6 ff. 

2 Grose: Aliens or Americans? p. 198 fif. 

3 Strong : The Challenge of the City, p. 98 flf. 

* Of the Pittsburgh Survey, published in Charities and the Commons, Jan- 
uary, February, and March, 1909, Dr. Edward T. Devine gives tlie following 
summary, which accurately describes conditions in other American cities: "An 
altogether incredible amount of overwork by everybody, reaching its extreme 
in the twelve-hour shift for seven days in the week in the steel mills and the 
railroad switch yards. 

"Low wages for the great majority of the laborers employed by tlie mills, 
so low as to be inadequate for the maintenance of a normal American stand- 
ard of living. 

"Still lower wages for women. 

"The destruction of family life, not in any imaginary or mystical sense, 
but by the demands of the day's work, and by the demonstrable and material 
method of tyi)hoid fever and industrial accidents, l)olh i)ievental)le, but cost- 
ing in single years in Pittsburgh considerably more than a thousand lives, 
and irretrievably shattering nearly as many homes." 




The Church 




Interior of the Church 
Berlin City Mission 



PROPAGATION OF THE GOSPEL II7 

and young are alike exposed; the loss of neighborhood feeling 
and the loneliness engendered where one is practically un- 
known; the constant shifting of population and the marked 
differences in social standing; all these are among the causes 
that alienate some from the Church, that keep others out of 
her, and that introduce elements into the problem of city 
evangelization which are most perplexing. 

We are told, for instance, that in New York, in spite of 
rapidly increasing population, the Protestant Church is 
barely holding its own; that there are considerably over a 
million of people of Protestant descent who have no church 
afl&liation whatever; that within recent years forty Protestant 
churches have moved out of the district below Twentieth 
Street, while 300,000 people have moved in; that since 1888 
no fewer than eighty-seven churches and missions have gone 
up-town or perished; that even in the upper part of the city 
a canvass of fifty-seven blocks shovs^ed that out of 60,000 
persons, belonging to 12,000 famihes, almost 54 per cent, were 
without church allegiance; that the Roman Cathohc Church 
has this same problem of religious indifferentism to wrestle 
with, not only in New York, but in other great American 
cities; and that the same disheartenment over the falling 
away from all religious belief exists among Jewish religious 
leaders as among Christians. 

It is with conditions like these that the city mission seeks 
to deal. The first such mission owes its origin to a Scotch 
layman, David Nasmith (i 799-1 839), who began his work in 
Glasgow, in 1826, assisted by eight missionaries. In 1835 
he foimded the London City Mission, to-day, with its 500 
missionaries, the most extensive in the world. Each mis- 
sionary visits once a m^onth about 500 families, or 2000 
persons, of the neglected and often destitute and vicious 
classes. " Their work is to act as pioneers in places where 
the faithful pastor may in due time follow. They read the 
Scriptures, pray with and exhort the people, give them tracts, 
see that the children go to school, and that every family 
is possessed of a copy of the Word of God. While the 



Il8 FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 

Society's missionaries are forbidden to give money or so to 
deport themselves as to be looked upon as mere charity 
agents, they render most effective service in bringing relief 
to those whose destitution demands immediate attention; 
but their constant aim is, through Gospel instrumentalities, 
to reach and renovate character, and thus transform the 
personal and family life. When this end is attained the 
family is at once found to be lifted permanently above the 
level of vice and want."^ 

To-day similar missions are found in many of the leading 
cities of Christendom, Germany has 71, chief among 
which are those in Hamburg and Berlin, both founded by 
Wichern, the former in 1848 and the latter in 1858. That 
of Berlin, reorganized in 1877, at which time Court-preacher 
Dr. Adolf Stocker (1835-1909) became its director, is the 
largest and most important. The working force in 1909- 
19 10 consisted of seven pastors or " inspectors," forty-seven 
deacons, five candidates, and twelve deaconesses. The 
Mission House No. 6 Johannistisch, with its complex of 
buildings devoted to various purposes, and the church built 
by the friends of Dr. Stocker, is the center of the Mission's 
operations. Here numerous meetings are held Sundays and 
weekdays, with old and young, for service, Bible study, indus- 
trial, and other purposes. Here the missionaries gather with 
their inspectors every Friday morning to exchange experi- 
ences, discuss projects, and, above all, to seek refreshment 
and strength in God's Word. Here thousands annually go in 
and out whose needs of body and soul compel them to seek 
relief. Here the discharged convict and the unemployed 
are given a helping hand, and a place of refuge is provided 
for imperiled girls and women. And here a large printing 
estabhshment issues and puts into circulation an immense 
amount of Christian literature. In other parts of the city 
three chapels and eighteen halls are in constant use as sub- 
ordinate centers of missionary labors. Seven choirs, trained 
by and attached to the Mission, sing the Gospel into human 

' Encyclopedia of Missions, Funk and Wugnalls Co., I'd cd., p. 175. 



PROPAGATION OF THE GOSPEL II9 

hearts on the city's streets; four hospices afford accommoda- 
tions to those seeking entertainment amid Christian sur- 
roundings; and for the workers in the Mission and others in 
need of recuperation the vacation resort at Wernigerode in 
the Harz Moimtains serves as a pleasant and health-giving 
retreat. 

Fully 100,000 visits are annually made by the mission- 
aries, most of them from house to house, others to the sick, 
some to the poor to learn their actual needs and arrange 
for their relief, others again to those who are known to have 
neglected the baptism and Christian training of their children 
or who perhaps even live in concubinage, and some, finally, 
to find, if possible, for pastors and relatives in the country 
such as have disappeared from view or who amid a city's 
vices and temptations are in dire peril or have already fallen 
into evil ways. It is in such charitable, preventive, and re- 
formatory work among girls and women that the women 
missionaries find their special field of labor. 

The Berlin City Mission is typical of most of the city 
missions in Germany. As a rule, they do their work in closest 
affihation with the churches; and whilst the work of all is 
in var3dng degrees diaconal, the prime purpose of the city 
mission is everyw^here evangehstic, i. e., by means of the 
Gospel to win to churchly and Christian life those who stand 
aloof or have fallen away. 

City missions are also found in leading cities of our land. 
An extensive work is done by the City Mission and Tract 
Society of New York, and the Protestant Episcopal City 
Mission of Philadelphia. For holding service and making 
visits in charitable, reformatory, and penal institutions, and 
ministering to the spiritual and physical needs of those not 
otherwise cared for, the Lutheran Church has general city 
missionaries in Philadelphia, New York, St. Louis, Chicago, 
Minneapolis and St. Paul, Milwaukee, Buffalo, Brooklyn, 
and Toledo; but nowhere among us has this branch of 
Inner Mission work yet reached a development commen- 
surate with the need. 



I20 FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 

But however necessary general city missions may be, es- 
pecially in Germany with its enormously large city parishes, 
they should in the cities of our own land never be regarded 
otherwise than as a subordinate agency, designed chiefly 
for those who are for some reason momentarily beyond the 
reach and influence of the churches. In the American city, 
with its large number of churches, every established congrega- 
tion should be a center of missionary activity, but especially 
those whose churches are located in the midst of a congested 
and unchurched population. If the Church of to-day does 
not have the hold upon such masses that she should have, we 
cannot close our eyes to the fact that something has been 
and stiU is lacking on her part. The chasm that in many 
places separates her from the masses is at least to some 
extent due to the failure of congregations to take note of the 
rapidly changing conditions of modern life, and to adapt their 
methods to these changed conditions. The result is that much 
of the work that churches ought to do is done by purely 
humanitarian associations, or left to the Salvation Army 
and kindred organizations. 

A city congregation should not think of leaving a neigh- 
borhood in which its presence and work as an uplifting and 
saving power are most needed. On the contrary, it should 
give the more special heed to the Lord's command to "go 
out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city and bring 
in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the 
blind" (Luke 14: 21). It should seek to communicate the 
life-giving Word to the largest possible number, and be 
prepared to extend the ministrations of Christian love 
wherever needed. It need not die if it chooses to live; and 
if it dies, when it has ample material to work upon, it richly 
deserves its fate. " Launch out into the deep, and let down 
your nets for a draught," was the Lord's word to Simon, after 
a whole night of fruitless effort; and the disciple's obedience 
to his Master's command was most liberally rewarded ! 
Nor will the Lord to-dny withhold His blessing from a con- 
gregation that is fired with that genuine missionary zeal and 



PROPAGATION OF THE GOSPEL 121 

that love of souls which only a living faith can produce. 
But it must learn to know its nearest neighbors, and come to 
realize its full measure of responsibility for these before God. 
It must have as much concern for those heathenizing at home 
as for the heathen of foreign lands. It must cease to be 
satisfied with the regular routine ser/ices of the Lord's 
Day, a session of the Sunday school, and perhaps a poorly 
attended mid-week service, and look beyond the walls of its 
church. It must make a systematic effort, through an in- 
creased and willing working force, to reach out into the masses 
surrounding its place of worship, that it may discover their 
spiritual and temporal needs, and furnish the relief. Why 
should not a church in the midst of a teeming, imchurched 
population be a hive of activity all the while, weekdays 
as well as Simdays, making use of every legitimate Gospel 
means to win old and young for better life? Why should it 
not have, besides its pastor or pastors, an entire staff of 
trained deacons, deaconesses, and teachers, and a whole host 
of volunteer helpers to come into personal touch with, and 
to do individual work among those who are right about it, 
and who most need such effort? Why serve a class instead 
of the mass? Very truthfully has it been said that the Church 
of to-day is to a great extent " spending her energies on the 
best elements of society, her time is given to teaching the 
most intelligent, she is medicating the healthiest, she is salting 
the salt, while the determinating masses, which include the 
most ignorant and vicious, the poorest and most degraded, 
are alike beneath her influence and effort."^ And if it be 
affirmed that these latter are beyond the Church's reach, 
then we may quote the equally truthful words of another, 
who says: " In the days of Jesus on earth there was a class 
of people called pubHcans and sinners and harlots, who, when 
they saw God as He was in Christ Jesus, almost leaped upon 
Him for joy, in finding that for which their souls hungered 
and thirsted; and the same hunger is still working in the 
hearts of many upon whom we are more likely to look as 
» Strong: The New Era, p. 221. 



122 FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 

being at enmity with God than as being famished for Him." ^ 
Indeed, in illustrating the distinction between profession and 
practice, our Lord Himself declares that the pubUcans and 
harlots who sincerely repent shall go into the kingdom of 
God before the self-righteous and impenitent who say 
''Lord, Lord," but do not the will of God (Luke 21 : 28-32). 
In the disposition to serve a class rather than the mass 
is probably found one of the most potent reasons why many 
congregations desert a neighborhood when the population 
begins to change, and the well-to-do members move into 
newer and better localities. Unfortunately this is true only 
of Protestants. Roman Catholics never abandon a field, 
and often immediately occupy those left by Protestants, 
build large and imposing churches, and keep these open 
week-days and Sundays for all who wish to come, from the 
poorest and humblest to the richest and most distinguished. 
To many a Protestant church of to-day the message that 
came to the angel of the church at Sardis applies with equal 
force: '' I know thy works, that thou hast a name, that thou 
livest, and art dead. Be watchful, and strengthen the things 
which remain, that are ready to die; for I have not found thy 
works perfect before God. Remember therefore how thou 
hast received and heard; and hold fast, and repent" (Rev. 

3 : 1-3)- 

And at this point the question becomes an intensely 
individual and personal one. Where so much remains to be 
done, each one should ask himself or herself: " Wliat am 
/ doing? Has the Lord given me gifts and talents that I can 
use in His service and for the good of others? If He has, 
am I embracing my opportunities to put them into practice? 
Are there those into whose hearts I can help to |)ut the seeds 
of Divine truth, and into whose lives I can bring some of the 
sunshine of Christian love and fellowship?" However nec- 
essary it is to have many well-trained helpers in all forms 
of Inner Mission work, the principle laid down by Wicliern 
of enlisting in it, as far as possible, the entire body of believers 

» The Rev. Scott R. Wagner: Reformed Church Review, Jan. 1909, p. 57. 



PROPAGATION OF THE GOSPEL 1 23 

must never be overlooked. Yet, alas ! how many thousand 
in the churches are quite at ease with themselves, and imagine 
that they have done all that can reasonably be expected of 
them, when they have occupied their pew on Sunday and 
made an occasional — perhaps altogether insignificant — con- 
tribution to this or that cause! To such the Church is not 
a vineyard in which those who have entered it are to be 
laborers, but rather a place in which to enjoy only the good 
things which the vineyard produces. Forgetting the ex- 
ample of Him whose name they bear, they allow themselves 
to be ministered unto, but do not minister themselves. In 
these days of extraordinary demands for service such need to 
heed the cry: "Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the 
dead, and Christ shall give thee light" (Eph. 5 : 14); and, 
looking about themselves to see what is required, and with ears 
and hearts wide open to the cry for help, they must come to a 
proper realization of their responsibility as the stewards of 
the gifts of God, if they would in the end escape the con- 
demnation of the unjust and unfaithful. It is in such service 
in behalf of others, especially in the giving of one's self, that 
the faithful come to understand how much more blessed it 
is to give than to receive. In love to God and man to aid 
in leading others to a knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus, 
to influence lives in the right direction for time and eternity, 
to help to relieve the ills which sin entails, and in return for 
such service to see the tear of gratitude and hear the word of 
thankfulness, is indeed to experience such a joy as nothing 
else in the world can give ! 

And to inspire this larger measure of duty pastors themselves 
must be vitally interested. A wider outlook, a careful study 
of conditions, familiarity with current movements and their 
literature, genuine missionary zeal, and such a passion for 
souls and service as only the Word of God can enkindle — 
all these are first needed in the pastor as the teacher and 
leader of his flock; and thus furnished let him then with 
absolute fearlessness lay upon the hearts of his people both 
the needs which call for relief and the duty of those to whom 



124 FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 

the call comes. He who fails in this respect must have a poor 
idea indeed of his own responsibility before God. 

The home mission problem can often also best be solved 
in cities not by general church boards, but by the local con- 
gregations already in existence. These, either singly or in 
cooperation, should keep an eye on the entire field, organize 
Sunday schools and missions wherever needed, and give these 
vigorous personal and financial support until they are com- 
pletely estabhshed. In many neighborhoods Inner Mission 
methods will from the very beginning serve as the best 
means to insure future success; and, by whomsoever carried 
on, such enterprises should always endeavor to offer the best. 
Unattractive buildings, cheap furnishings, poor preaching, 
and a slip-shod service do not appeal to those for whom 
anything is so often thought to be good enough. For work 
so difficult men should be chosen who are familiar with city 
conditions and needs, and who possess the best qualifications 
as missionaries, preachers, and organizers; and the place to 
which the unchurched of the neighborhood are invited should 
in its appearance, its activities, and in its services become 
a center of the best and brightest that the Church is capable 
of giving. 

Nevertheless with all that the Church may do there are 
sections in nearly all the larger cities, known as the slums, 
in which even her best work will prove almost fruitless so 
long as the external conditions remain unchanged. Hence 
wherever she can do so she must by her preaching and teach- 
ing seek to inspire that large-hearted Christian philanthropy 
and that civic virtue which will induce individuals and mu- 
nicipal authorities to engage in the work of removing these 
conditions. " The people cannot be elevated while their 
environment remains unchanged. A much more robust virtue 
than exists in the slums would yield to the conditions which 
there prevail. On the other hand, we cannot very materially 
change the environment while the people remain unchanged. 
Both must be transformed together; while moral and sjiirit- 
ual influences are brought to bear on the people, the physical 



PROPAGATION OF THE GOSPEL I25 

causes of their degradation must be removed. The sending 
of an occasional missionary with a gospel message is like try- 
ing to bail out the Atlantic with a thimble ; and the preaching 
of a half gospel in elegant up-town churches does not have the 
remotest tendency to transform the slums — to save the part 
of the city which most needs saving. An occasional rescue 
mission, like the devoted city missionary, may do much good 
by the saving of individuals and families, but the awful supply 
of ruined men and women is not reduced. A missionary 
may reasonably hope to elevate a tribe of savages in a genera- 
tion of time, because every one brought under his influence 
reinforces that influence and becomes a helper. Not so in 
the slums. When a man or a family are reclaimed they move 
out, and their places are quickly taken by others equally 
needing reclamation. We shall continue to have the slums 
until the causes which produce them are removed." ^ 



c. The Dissemination of the Scriptures 

To give the Scriptures the widest possible dissemination as 
the auxiliary of the preached Word, numerous Bible societies 
have come into existence. The Bible Institution at Halle 
(in 1735 merged with the Francke Stiftungen, p. 146), founded 
by Baron von Canstein in 171 2, was the first to undertake 
work of this kind (p. 52). During the eighteenth century 
efforts in the same direction were also made by various asso- 
ciations in England. On March 7, 1804, the great British 
and Foreign Bible Society was founded in London, in the 
formation of which the Rev. Dr. Steinkopf, pastor of the 
German Lutheran Church in the Savoy, was especially active 
and useful. From this society, and more particularly from 
Dr. Steinkopf, came the impulse that led to the formation of 
numerous societies in Germany. Beginning with the 
Niirnberg (1804), which two years later was merged into the 
Basel of Switzerland, one society after the other was organ- 
ized until the number in Germany alone has now reached 

» Strong: The New Era, p. 193. 



126 FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 

thirty-one. Chief among these are the Wiirttemberg (1812) 
and Prussian (1814). Societies are also found in Denmark, 
Sweden, Norway, Holland, France, Russia, Scotland, and 
Ireland. In America the first Bible society was the Penn- 
sylvania, organized in Philadelphia, in 1808. Others fol- 
lowed in quick succession, so that by June, 181 6, one himdred 
and twenty-eight such societies were reported. A national 
movement resulted in 181 6 in the formation of the American 
Bible Society, with headquarters in New York, to which 346 
local societies bear an auxihary relation. 

All the larger societies maintain central depots. From 
these the Bibles are sent out to branch stations and agents, 
to be sold practically at cost, or to be given away where 
necessity demands. For placing Bibles extensive use is 
made of colporteurs; and in many localities much work of this 
kind is done by pastors, teachers, and other Bible friends. 

The origin of the British and Foreign Bible Society has a 
most interesting history. One day the Rev. Thomas Charles, 
pastor of a small congregation at Bala, Wales, met little Mary 
Jones on the street. He began to question her about his 
text and sermon on the preceding Sunday. But the girl 
could answer nothing. She excused herself by saying that 
the weather had been so unpleasant that she could not get a 
Bible to read. Failing to understand what she meant, Mr. 
Charles, by further questioning, elicited the information that 
there was not a Bible in all Bala; that she was, therefore, 
accustomed every week to make a long journey on foot across 
the mountains to the home of her grandmother, who owned a 
Welsh Bible; and that there she read the chapter from which 
the text of the Sunday's sermon was taken. At once the 
good pastor resolved to devise some method by which the 
need among his people could be relieved. Shortly aftenvards 
the London Tract Society held its annual meeting. Mr. 
Charles went to London and, introduced by a friend, related 
the story of Mary Jones, and asked the society for help. 
It was proposed at once to organize a society to su]-)]'>ly 
Wales with Bibles. *' No; not only Wales, not only England, 



PROPAGATION OF THE GOSPEL 1 27 

but the whole world," said another speaker; and the seed 
was planted that led to the formation of the largest and most 
widely active Bible society in the world. 

Up to March 31, 1909, the British and Foreign Bible 
Society reports the translation, printing, and distribution of 
the whole or a part of the Bible by the society in 418 lan- 
guages or dialects. The year's issue amounted to 5,934,711 
volumes. Since its foundation the society has issued over 
215,500,000 copies of the Scriptures. 

In the year ending March 31, 1909, the issues of the Ameri- 
can Bible Society were 2,153,028 volumes, of which 1,190,228 
were issued from the Bible House in New York and 962,800 
by the society's agencies abroad. 

During the year 1908 the European and American societies 
pubHshed considerably over 11,000,000 volumes of Scriptures. 

d. The Circulation of Christian Literature 

Next in importance to the dissemination of the Scriptures 
is the circ'olation of literatiu*e that is Christian and morally 
healthy in tone. In numberless instances the seed of the 
Word is rendered fruitless by the reading of books, papers, 
etc., that instil false views of life and duty, and even pollute 
mind and heart. Much of the fiction of the day, the issues 
of the socialistic press, the productions of twentieth century 
rationalism, the scoffing pubHcations of the Philistine type, 
the Sunday newspaper — to say nothing of the yellows-back 
novel and the immoral Hterature that finds its w^ay into the 
hands of many, especially of the young — all these interfere 
with the operations of the Word and need an effective anti- 
dote. 

In the conflict with demoralizing literature, and also as an 
evangelizing means to reach those w^ho never come to hear the 
W^ord, well- written tracts, popular in style, attractive in ap- 
pearance, and low^ in price, serve a most useful purpose. 
Many of Luther's shorter writings w^ere of this kind, and hence 
were widely circulated and read. Not until the last century, 



128 FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 

however, did this form of Christian work experience any 
considerable development. Towards the close of the eight- 
eenth century the English authoress, Hannah More (1745- 
1833), wrote and published numerous tracts which circulated 
by hundreds of thousands, and whose purpose it was to coun- 
teract in England the influence of literature saturated with 
the spirit of the French Revolution. In 1799 the ReHgious 
Tract Society was organized in London, which, it is said, has 
since then issued more than one thousand million tracts in, 
125 languages, besides numerous other publications. The 
example set by England was soon followed in Germany, 
where alt least a half a dozen large tract societies, and other 
agencies, like the Berlin City Mission and the Rauhe Haus, 
have for years issued and put into circulation an immense 
amount of Christian literature in cheap and popular form. 

The weekly distribution of printed sermons has also become 
a widespread practice among Inner Mission workers. It 
was in November, 1881, that Dr. Stocker and some of his 
colaborers in the Berlin City Mission discussed the question 
of how to reach those whose vocation did not permit them to 
come to church on the Lord's Day. Then and there it was 
decided to try the experiment of issuing for free distribution 
an eight-page sermon every week, at a price not exceeding 
twenty-five cents a hundred copies. The experiment at once 
proved highly successful. By the year 1883 a weekly issue of 
30,000 copies was required, and the publication branch of the 
Berlin City Mission was begun. Four years later 122,000 
were needed. Similar undertakings were soon launched in 
other parts of Germany, and yet the demand for the sermons 
issued at Berlin scarcely suffered any diminution. The total 
of printed sermons distributed every week is now probably 
a full quarter of a million. - 

As a further means to displace improper literature and 
provide instructive and wholesome reading the various Inner 
Mission societies and publication houses issue numerous 
periodicals and papers that annually circulate in millions of 
copies. Thus there are the many publications that serve as 



PROPAGATION OF THE GOSPEL 1 29 

the organs of some special form of Imier Mission vvork, or 
represent the cause as a whole; church and congregational 
papers whose circulation is almost exclusively local; papers 
with contents intended for an entire province; and, finally, 
those which, like the Christenbote, the Nachbar, the Sonntags- 
frewtd, and others, find their readers in all parts of Germany 
and far beyond. Besides these there are a number of weekly 
pubHcations like the Daheim, Gruss Gott, Immergrun, and 
Quellwasser, which are intended to furnish wholesome mental 
entertainment rather than direct spiritual edification. 

Of no small consequence are the almanacs — upwards of 
seventy — issued by different societies and pubhcation houses. 
These circulate in fully three million copies and have in many 
households driven out the almanacs of vicious content and 
influence. The first efforts in this direction w^ere made by 
Pastor Oberlin in the Steinthal, who prepared a Christian 
almanac especially for the people of his parish; and by Fhed- 
ner at Kaiserswerth. In 1841 the latter began to issue the 
Christlicher Volkskalender, which is still pubUshed in an edi- 
tion of 100,000 copies; and to-day nearly every branch of 
Inner Mission work is represented by a pubhcation of this 
kind. 

e. People's Libraries 

Nowhere perhaps do people have such ready access to 
books as in America and England. In the cities and towTis 
of these two countries are found libraries innumerable, 
large and small, of the most varied contents, established and 
maintained at the pubHc expense or by private beneficence, 
and open to readers for a nominal fee or without cost. That 
the well-selected pubHc Ubrary has a vast educational value 
cannot be denied; but that into many of them a large number 
of books likewise find their way, and are extensively read, 
whose influence is by no means of the best, is also true.^ 

» "A tabulated report of the library system of Pittsburgh, exclusive of 
Allegheny, is instructive. Eight libraries contain 364,498 volumes, and there 
were 86,399 holders of borro^ving cards, which if multiplied by six to a family, 
as the report suggests, would make the libraries reach, more or less closely, 



130 FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 

Still more so is the latter the case with the small circulating 
libraries that have within recent years, in so many American 
cities and towns, been established in drug stores and other 
frequented places. 

To supply a felt need in their own land, create a taste for 
the best literature, and thus erect a barrier against that which 
is vicious, German Inner Mission societies have been espe- 
cially active in establishing small people's libraries, consist- 
ing in part of books of a generally instructive character, and in, 
still greater measure of books designed to furnish wholesome 
entertainment, in both of which the German language is 
so rich. To these libraries sermonic literature, books of 
devotion, and technical works, all of which ought to be the 
property of the individual, are not admitted; and books that 
are in any wise inimical to religion, morality, the Church, 
and the State are rigorously excluded. It is of the first im- 
portance, therefore, that the person entrusted with the selec- 
tion of books be thoroughly competent to judge of their 
contents. 

Over 10,000 such people's libraries are found in Germany, 
a very large proportion of which were established or are 
still managed by pastors, and the purchase money for which 
was provided by societies, congregations, and individuals. 
Their use is either free or for a small consideration. 

In our American churches neighborhood libraries of this 

518,304 persons out of an estimated population for the city of 570,000. The 
four highest classes of library matter, counted by books issued, are fiction, 
542,238 volumes, or 54.26 per cent.; hterature, 77,705 volumes, or 7.77 per cent.; 
useful arts, 33,405 volumes, or 3.34 per cent., and sociologj', 114,785 volumes, 
or 11.49 per cent.; while religious works reach 19,700 volumes, or 1.97 per cent.; 
the third from the lowest in the percentage list. The conclusion reached by 
the report is that Pittsburgh ranks fifth as a book-buying city and tlurd as to 
quality of books. Only philosophy and philology stand lower than religious 
works read — 19,700 books out of nearly one million drawn out during 190Q 
puts religious books almost out of commission, and shows how necessary it is 
for the Church to make up in other ways, privately, the appalling dearth. 
When fiction, much of it vile and most of it wor(hk\ss, constitutes over one- 
half the library reading, and sociology, much of it theory, for which there is 
scant practice, fills up over three-fifth's of library reading, and religion has a 
scant one-fiftieth of the whole, tluTc is room for the (liurch to 'stop, look, and 
listen,' for there is danger ahead."— Rev. Dr. 1. M. Wallace in Jlie LutJuran, 
March 24, 19 10. 



PROPAGATION OF THE GOSPEL 13I 

kind could easily be maintained by congregational societies 
and be made productive of much good. Even the Sunday 
school Ubraries, if they were more carefully selected and 
graded, could to an extent serve a similarly useful purpose. 

f. Music and Art 

It was Luther who said: **I am not of the opinion that 
through the Gospel all arts should be banished and driven 
away, as some zealots want to make us believe ; but I wish to 
see all arts, especially music, in the service of Him who 
created and gave them." Than Luther no one ever had a 
better understanding of the vast influence of sacred song in 
the religious life of the people. To music he assigned the 
first place after divinity; ^' for, like this," he says again, " it 
sets the soul at rest and places it in a most happy mood — 
a clear proof that the demon who creates such sad sorrows and 
ceaseless torments retires as fast before music and its sounds 
as before divinity. There is no doubt that the seed of many 
virtues exists in the minds of those who love music; but those 
who are not moved by it, in my estimation, resemble sticks 
and stones." Hence he was as much concerned to give the 
people proper hymns and songs as he was to give them a piu-e 
Gospel and an open Bible. To promote his great reformatory 
movement he not only wrote thirty-seven hymns and para- 
phrases himself, but encouraged others to make similar 
contributions. Many of these were sung to familiar melodies 
derived from the folk-songs ; and we are told, therefore, that 
" a hymn had scarcely gushed from the heart of a poet until 
it spread everywhere among the people, permeated families 
and churches, was sung before every door, in workshops, 
marketplaces, streets, and fields, and with a single stroke 
won whole cities to the evangelical faith. "^ 

In view of such results it is quite natural to find that 
many leaders of the Inner Mission movement have from the 
beginning placed a high estimate upon the spiritual and 

1 Kurtz: Church History. American ed. Vol. ii, p. 141. 



132 FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 

educational value of music. Sacred song was most dili- 
gently cultivated in Francke's Orphanage at Halle and in 
Zeller's Refuge for Children at Beuggen; with a better under- 
standing of the child nature and a proper appreciation of 
the joyous freedom that must be accorded it, Falk, in his 
" Lutherhof " at Weimar, also made use of the best secular 
folk-songs; Wichern edited and issued Unsere Lieder for the 
use of the Rauhe Haus at Hamburg; here was published and 
introduced the abridged edition of Chevalier Bunsen's 
hymn book (1846), which, in its larger first edition, marked 
the beginning of the reaction against the hymn book vandal- 
ism of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth 
century; in the Deaconess Motherhouse at Neuendettelsau 
Lohe again revived the singing of the psalms in the minor 
services of the Lutheran Church; Pastor Kuhlo of the Eliza- 
beth Deaconess House in Berlin was responsible for the widely 
used Lauda Sion, and Pastor Volkening, of Westphaha, for 
the very influential Missionsharfe ; hundreds of singing 
unions and trombone choirs in the different provinces help 
to make many festival occasions highly impressive and 
edifying by their cooperation; while in scores of hospitals 
the Sunday afternoon song services of the deaconesses serve 
to bring spiritual refreshment and serious thought to many 
hearts. 

Nor is music the only art that the Inner Mission draws 
into its service. The great facts of redemption may be set 
forth in picture and stone, as well as in speech and song. 
As speech and song appeal to the heart through the ear, so 
the noble creations of the painter, the sculptor, and the 
architect speak to the heart through the eye. It was Luther 
again who said: " Would to God that I could persuade those 
who can afford it to paint the whole Bible on their houses, 
inside and outside, so that all might see ; this would, indeed, 
be a Christian work. For I am con viced that it is God's 
will that we should hear and learn what He has done, espe- 
cially what Christ suffered. But when I hear these things, 
and meditate upon them, I find it impossible not to picture 




^2 



CARE AND TRAINING OF CHILDREN 1 33 

them in my heart. Whether I want to or not, when I hear 
of Christ, a human form hanging upon a cross rises up in my 
heart; just as I see my natural face reflected when I look into 
water. Now if it is not sinful for me to have Christ's picture 
in my heart, why should it be sinful to have it before my 
eyes?" 

To foster Christian art of the highest type in the churches 
and homes of Protestant Germany societies have been 
organized in each of the four kingdoms comprised in the 
German Empire, to wit, in Prussia (1851), in Wurttemberg 
(1857), in Saxony (1863), and in Bavaria (1884), with 
headquarters respectively in Berlin, Stuttgart, Dresden, 
and Nuremberg. 

Paramentic, or the art of ecclesiastical embroidery, has 
been highly developed by the so-called Paramentenvereine. 
The first of these, organized in 1858, owes its existence to 
Pastor Lohe of the Deaconess House at Neuendettelsau. 
Now there are almost a score of such societies. Most of 
them are closely afiiliated with deaconess houses, where 
sisters of a high degree of skill engage in the beautiful art. 
The work itself is a labor of love, and only the cost of pro- 
duction is charged. Of vast service in the development of 
this branch of Christian art were Pastor Moritz Meurer 
(1806-1877), and Professor Martin Eugen Beck (1833-1903), 
the former as adviser, and the latter as designer. 

II. The Care and Training of Children 

No more important work can engage our attention than 
that of the proper care and training of the young. It is 
in childhood and youth that those impressions are made 
and those habits are formed that, as a rule, give shape to 
the entire subsequent life. The influential factors that 
enter into the development of a good character are a proper 
environment, and the right instruction of heart, mind, and 
hand. For aU this the Inner Mission makes provision in its 
various institutions and agencies; it adds a large measure of 



134 FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 

purely physical care ; and the inspiration for it all is the word 
of the Master: " Whoso shall receive one such little child in 
My name receive th Me." 

a. Day Nurseries 

The day nursery is designed to relieve a need that is most 
frequently encountered among the poor of large cities. In 
these many mothers for a variety of reasons are obliged to 
work out in order to make a living for the family. But 
with one or more small children to care for, this would 
obviously be impossible unless some one could be found to 
take a mother's place during the day. This the day nursery 
does, giving such mothers a chance to accept employment, 
and providing for their little ones a place in every way far 
better than the homes from which most of them come. 

The first day nursery (Fr. creche, Ger. Krippe = a crib or 
manger, to remind of the manger at Bethlehem) was opened 
in Paris in 1844 by F. Marbeau, who, as a city official, had 
learned to know something of the condition of the poor, espe- 
cially of working women and their children. He speedily 
found imitators, and within seven years there were four 
hundred day nurseries in France. Thence the new institu- 
tion spread to other Catholic countries, and by degrees was 
also introduced in Protestant Germany. According to the 
1910 statistics of the Kaiserswerth Union of Motherhouses 
154 day nurseries were then in charge of 250 deaconesses. 

Into a day nursery children ranging in age from four weeks 
to about three years are received, and are cared for on every 
working day from morning until evening. To guard against 
contagion a physician's certificate of good health must ac- 
company the application. Illegitimate children (for whom 
special institutions exist) are, as a rule, not admitted. Care- 
ful investigation should in every case determine whether it 
is urgent, or whether the mother who applies has im])roper 
motives. Such circumstances like these should be inquired 
into: Does the mother really have to work out? Does she 



CARE AND TRAINING OF CHILDREN 135 

seek honorable employment? Has she good habits? Or 
does she wish to bring her chid to the nursery only to escape the 
duties and responsibilities of a mother? To receive the child 
or children of such a mother would be to encourage her in 
a vicious course. Besides its other necessary apartments, a 
well-conducted day nursery must have at least one general 
living room and one quiet sleeping room for the children. 
The latter should be furnished with cribs, and in the former 
should be found a " baby walker " to enable the youngest 
children to learn to. walk. To avoid accidents and injury 
only the most necessary furniture and harmless toys should 
be provided. In the nursery each child wears the clothing 
of the institution, its own clothing meanwhile exposed as 
much as possible to the air. The change this involves, morn- 
ing and evening, affords opportunity for a thorough washing 
of each child, and for discovering any external signs of such 
diseases as scarlet fever, measles, etc. As a protection to 
others, sick children are sent to a hospital or returned to their 
parents; and in case of an epidemic in the nursery it must be 
temporarily closed. For the physical well-being of the 
children, nourishing diet, fresh air, plenty of simlight, cleanli- 
ness, and abimdant sleep are essentials ; whilst those in charge, 
in addition to teaching good habits, obedience, order, pleasant 
plays, and how to speak and walk, must also endeavor to 
put into the hearts of the older children the first simple 
truths of Scriptmre, and upon their lips the first words of 
prayer. 

The day nursery furthermore affords an excellent oppor- 
tunity for becoming acquainted with the mothers and for 
influencing the home life. Very often these do not under- 
stand the very first principles of child care and training. 
But much may be done to bring about better conditions by 
utilizing the morning and evening contact with the mothers 
to give them proper instruction. Says one of the Year 
Books of Grace Protestant Episcopal Church, New York: 
" The Mothers' Meetings, held one evening in the month, 
have been most successful, both in the large numbers who 



L^6 FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 

attended and in the interest manifested. We try to make 
these evenings practical and helpful, as well as bright and 
interesting, and we feel that these meetings, together with 
the daily Mothers' Afternoon Tea, have been most beneficent 
factors in our work. The tea is provided for the women when 
they come in tired from their day's work to take their children 
home. One of the deaconesses is always in attendance, the 
table is daintily spread with tea urn and pretty, simple 
china, and from sixty to seventy women are usually present. 
One important feature of the work is that of knowing the 
mothers and all about their circumstances; and twice a day 
the deaconesses make a point of seeing them and having a 
little talk with them." 

A day nursery should maintain close relations with other 
forms of benevolence. It may form a part of the complex 
benevolent operations of a congregation or be associated 
with a general city mission. For the care of sickly children 
it should have some arrangement with an estabhshed hospital. 
For properly qualified persons to take charge of the work 
it should look to a deaconess house or some other institution 
that furnishes trained workers; and where training-schools 
for working girls are found, the domestics and other assistants 
should be taken from these. 

The day nursery has served its purpose: i. When it has 
been a helping hand to hard-working mothers in the struggle 
for existence; 2, when it has aided the child in its physical 
and spiritual development during the most tender period of 
its life, and through the child possibly also reached the 
family with influences for good. 

For the service rendered by a day nursery a slight charge 
should be made whenever practicable. 

b. Little Children's Schools 

The little children's school {Klcinkinderschule or Warte- 
schule), among us in America also called the Christian 
kindergarten, is designed for a certain class of children who 



CARE AND TRAINING OF CHILDREN 137 

are beyond the day nursery age and not yet old enough to be 
admitted to the regular day school. It must, however, not 
be confused with the kindergarten of Frobel. The latter 
seeks to serve all alike, regardless of any special need, and 
leaving out of view the Bibhcal teachings concerning sin and 
grace (John 3 : 3, 5, 6 e/ al.), proceeds upon the basis of a 
purely natural development. The Httle children's school, 
on the contrary, recognizing the fact that the Christian 
mother is, as a rule, the best teacher of children from three 
to six years of age, has for its primary purpose the care and 
training of such children as lack the proper advantages at 
home. This is the case when mothers are obliged to go out 
by the day to work, or when they wilfully neglect their 
children, or when they, indeed, have the time and the will but 
not the ability to give their children the right training. 
As distinguished from the Frobel kindergarten, the funda- 
mental principle underlying the little children's school is 
that it must be distinctively Christian both in its view of 
the child and in the methods it follows. 

The first school of this t3^e was established by Pastor 
Oberlin, in the Steinthal, Alsatia, in 1779. During his long 
pastorate Oberlin transformed the Steinthal physically and 
spiritually. In his work with children he was aided by his 
gifted and pious housemaid, Louise Scheppler, who gathered 
the neglected ones together, became their teacher, and, like 
a devoted mother, took the deepest interest in their spiritual 
and temporal well-being. Similar schools were begun by 
Prof. Walzeck in Berlin, in 1819, and by Fliedner at Kaisers- 
werth, in 1836. In 1842 the latter also established a seminary 
for the training of teachers for little children's schools. 
Through Fliedner the work in such schools likewise became a 
branch of deaconess activity, and quite a number of mother- 
houses now make the training of teachers a specialty, among 
them the Philadelphia and Milwaukee Motherhouses in our 
own land. Much good service was also rendered the cause by 
Baron von Bissing (18 10-1880), founder of the Oberlin 
House (1874), at Nowawes, near Potsdam, and by the sub- 



138 FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 

sequent director of the same, Johann Friedrich Ranke (1821- 
1891), whose numerous publications on the subject have a 
permanent value. At present Germany has fully 3000 
little children's schools, with a combined attendance of 
about 200,000 children. According to the statistics of 1910, 
II 17 of these were conducted by 12 16 deaconesses. 

The material equipment of a little children's school con- 
sists of a good-sized . room on the ground floor, furnished 
with low chairs, a few low tables, a piano or small organ, 
and a closet for storing the playthings, wall charts, and' 
other apparatus; a well-shaded play ground, with sand 
heap; and, if the children remain the entire day, a place 
where a light luncheon can be prepared and served, and a 
room with a few cots where the smaller ones can take a 
nap. The main room should be made as attractive as 
possible. 

Of supreme importance is the selection of the teacher. 
Whenever possible she should be specially trained for the 
work. Among her indispensable qualifications must be a 
love of children, patience, tact, self-control, understanding 
of the child nature, and a knowledge of the best methods 
of dealing with it. She must possess the inventive faculty 
and be resourceful, so as to enable her to vary the exercises 
sufiiciently and thus to prevent them from falling into a mere 
mechanical and stereotyped routine. She must be able to 
narrate Bible and other stories and to impart instruction 
from pictures and objects in the most child-like and interest- 
ing manner. She should always have at her command a large 
repertoire of simple hymns and songs set to good melodies. 
And she must never forget that the little children's school 
is not the place for the systematic teaching and study of even 
the most elementary branches, but an institution in which 
the requirements of the child nature arc met by the judicious 
combination and variation of simple oral instruction, song, 
and play. Thus in a way that imposes no task on the children 
they unconsciously learn lessons of obedience, order, neatness, 
etc., and, above all, of God and the things of God. 



CARE AND TRAINING OF CHILDREN 1 39 

Though differing fundamentally from the Frobel kinder- 
garten, the little children's school finds many of the plays 
and occupations of the former exceedingly useful and does 
not hesitate to adopt them. 

Should the number of children exceed forty, an assistant 
is required; and if a luncheon is served the additional work 
which this entails must be done by another person. A 
small tuition fee is charged, and the vacations correspond to 
those of other schools. 

For a further elucidation of this subject see " The Christian 
Kindergarten," by Dr. Theodore E. Schmauk, General 
Coimcil Publication House, Philadelphia. 

c. Sunday Schools 
For the spiritual benefit of the individual himself, as well 
as to make the most intelligent and loyal churchmen and 
citizens, the Lutheran Church, following the lead of the great 
Reformer, has from the beginning laid stress upon the neces- 
sity of combining an adequate amount of religious with 
secular instruction. '' In its various homes in Europe it has 
always had the especial supervision of all the elementary 
instruction, which it has conducted upon the principle that 
the religious training is the center of all education. The 
Catechism, Bible history, the committing to memory of 
copious Scripture texts and of the best hymns of the Church, 
and Church music, are prominent features of every-day 
instruction. It is a system which produces intelligent and 
earnest Christian laymen, and devout and capable Christian 
wives and mothers, who are not readily led astray, even, if 
rationalism should dominate in the theological training in the 
universities."^ It cannot, therefore, be a matter of surprise 
that in those countries which are predominantly Lutheran, 
and in which trained teachers inculcate the fundamental 
facts and doctrines of Christianity during the week, the 
Simday-school system, as we know it, has not been very 
widely introduced. 

» Jacobs: American Church History Series. Vol. iv, p. 12. 



I40 FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 

The modem Sunday school is almost distinctively an in- 
stitution of English-speaking countries. Robert Raikes 
(i 735-181 1), editor and proprietor of the Gloucester Journalj 
England, is commonly regarded as its founder. " Business 
calling him into the suburbs of that city in 1780, where 
many youth were employed in the pin and other factories, 
his heart was touched by the groups of ragged, wretched, 
and cursing children. He engaged four female teachers to 
receive and instruct in reading and in the Catechism such 
children as should be sent to them on Sunday. The children 
were required to come with clean hands and faces, and hair 
combed, and with such clothing as they had. They were to 
stay from ten to twelve, then to go home; to return at one, 
and after a lesson to be conducted to church; after church to 
repeat portions of the Catechism; to go home at five quietly, 
without playing in the streets. Diligent scholars received 
rewards of Bibles, Testaments, books, combs, shoes, and 
clothing; the teachers were paid a shilling a day."^ The 
movement, though violently opposed by some, soon found 
many adherents; and Sunday schools began to multiply 
rapidly throughout England, Scotland, Ireland, upon the 
Continent, and in America. In a short time gratuitous 
instruction by volunteers superseded the system of paid 
teachers, secular branches were eliminated, and the Sunday 
school became more and more an institution for systematic 
Bible study. By 1827 the number of scholars enrolled in the 
Sunday schools of the different countries was estimated at 
1,350,000, and by 1851 at no less than 3,000,000 in Great 
Britain and Ireland alone. To-day there are upwards of 
24,000,000 pupils in the Sunday schools of the world, taught 
by over 2,440,000 teachers. More than 21,300,000 pupils, 
with 2,300,000 teachers, are found in English-speaking lands. 

Long before the movement inaugurated by Raikes, Ger- 
many had its so-called Khulcrlchre, or catechetical service for 
children, usually held on Sunday afternoon. For this the 
Church Orders of the sixteenth century already made pro- 

» Schaff-Herzog : Encyclopadio. Vol. iv, 1S91, p. 2262. 



CARE AND TRAINING OF CHILDREN 14I 

vision. It was usually conducted by the pastor himself, 
and consisted of the declaratory explanation and interroga- 
tory review of the Catechism and Bible History. For just 
such work in church, school, and family Luther had prepared 
his Small Catechism, to which was subsequently added a 
great mass of literature intended for the Christian instruc- 
tion of the young. The method of the Kinderlehre was espe- 
cially fostered by Spener and Francke, and found its way to 
America through Muhlenberg. Through Spener and Francke 
'' the germ of the modern Simday-school system was intro- 
duced into it by the bringing in of Scripture proof passages 
and the free use of Bible texts." ^ 

In Germany the first Sunday school of the English type 
was organized in a suburb of Hamburg, in 1825, by J. G. 
Oncken, an agent of the London Sunday School Union 
(1803), and the Lutheran Pastor Rautenberg. This school 
deserves to be remembered as Wichern's first field of labor; 
and the knowledge of existing conditions which his connec- 
tion with it enabled him to gather had much to do with 
shaping his subsequent career. Not until 1863, however, 
did the Anglo-American Sunday school obtain a real foothold 
in Germany, chiefly through the efforts of Albert Woodruff 
(1807-1891), of New York, assisted by his interpreter, W. 
Brockelmann (1816-1892), a merchant of Bremen. Mr. 
Woodruff introduced the class or group system, with a teacher 
for each class, as distinguished from the Kinderlehre of the 
pastor, for children who are to be confirmed within a year or 
two, and from the Kinder gottesdienst, held by the pastor with 
children of all ages. The latter is, however, the name gener- 
ally applied to the German Sunday school, whether it be 
divided into classes or not; and of such schools there are to- 
day in Germany over 6000, with about 800,000 children. 

Besides 4862 parochial schools in the Lutheran Church in 
America, attended by 244,198 pupils,^ there is hardly a con- 
gregation that does not have its Sunday school. Where 

iScHMAUK: Lutheran Church Review. Vol. xv, p. 547. 
2 Statistics for 1910. 



142 FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 

there are no parochial schools, the Sunday school is designed 
to supply, as far as possible, the lack of religious instruction 
in the public schools, and alas! too often also in the family; 
though no one would seriously maintain that an hour a week 
suffices for this purpose. Hence, it is all the more necessary 
that the Sunday school be made as efficient as circumstances 
will permit. The pastor of the congregation should also 
be its pastor and guide. The teaching force should consist of 
persons who have abundant Scripture knowledge and are 
thoroughly rooted and grounded in the faith, who love their 
pupils and carry them on a prayerful heart, who have a due 
sense of their personal responsibility and conscientiously 
prepare for their duties, and who, both in what they teach 
and by what they are, seek to mold the life and character 
of those committed to their charge. The system of instruc- 
tion should be graded;^ and to the care bestowed upon this 
should be added a reverent concern for the devotional part 
of the Sunday-school session. The children should early be 
familiarized with the simpler forms of the Church's liturgical 
treasures; they should be taught to sing only such hymns and 
music as are conducive to a healthy development of their 
spiritual life; and all the while, as far as can be, the course of 
the Church year should be kept in view, both in the worship 
and in the instruction. Thus by what the children are 
taught of Bible and Catechism, and by the worship in which 
they engage, v/ill the Sunday school help to fit them to take 
their place in the adult congregation as devout and intelligent 
members of the Church, and to become upright and honorable 
citizens.^ 

The literature which the Sunday-school movement has 
called forth in the way of books, lesson-helps, and periodicals 
is almost beyond computation ; and it is safe to say that per- 

' Attention is directed to the I>utheran Graded Series issued by the General 
Council Puhh'cation Board, 1522 Arch Street, Philadelphia, which apiilies 
"scientific princiy)les of peda/^ofrv to the religious and moral training of the 
youth," and is strongly endorsed hy educators. 

2 For a comprehensive survey of this whole subject, see the Lutlicran Church 
Review, October, 1896. 



CARE AND TRAINING OF CHILDREN 143 

haps at no time in the history of the Christian Church has the 
Bible been more generally and systematically studied than at 
present. 

d. Shelters and Industrial Schools for Poor Children 

The same need that brought the day nursery and the Uttle 
children's school into being, is responsible for the existence 
of shelters and industrial schools for poor children. In 
the manufacturing and poorer districts of all the larger cities 
there are multitudes of school children whose parents are by 
necessity obliged to be away from home the entire day in 
order to earn a living. Where and how shall such children 
spend the time that intervenes between the school hours 
(in Germany from i or 3 to 7 p. m.) and the return of the 
parents from work? Shall it be on the street, exposed to 
those demoralizing influences that so often lead to a criminal 
career, or in a place that will help to develop habits and char- 
acter of the right kind? 

With the latter object in view two kinds of institutions 
have come into existence in Germany, the Knahenarheits- 
anstalten and the Kinderhorte. The former, dating from 1828, 
make provision chiefly for the training and employment of 
the hands, teach the elements of the simpler trades, and pay 
a small compensation for the work done. The latter rather 
seek to be a temporary substitute for the family and the 
well-regulated household, in which the preparation of the 
lessons for the following day and light manual labor alternate 
with play and healthful recreation. The first Kinderhort was 
established by Professor Schmid-Schwarzenberg of Erlangen, 
in 1872. To-day their number exceeds three hundred, into 
which more then 25,000 children are gathered. Those for 
girls are usually in charge of deaconesses. 

In our own land such movements as that for vacation 
schools and playgrounds, and some of the methods followed 
by child-saving societies, have practically the same preventive 
purpose in view. Thus, to quote but a single illustration, 



144 FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 

the Children's Aid Society of New York has its nineteen day 
and eight evening industrial schools, in which, besides the ele- 
mentary branches, are taught such subjects as housewifery, 
needle work, nature study, drawing and brush work, stories 
from history, clay modelling, cooking, dressmaking and 
millinery for girls, and elementary carpentry and the first 
steps in cabinet m^aking, cobbling, chair-caning, basket mak- 
ing, Venetian iron work and pyrography, as well as cooking, 
for the boys. The report goes on to say: "The class of 
children that we are striving to reach are so restless and lack- 
ing in ambition and so rebellious against efforts at discipline 
that many of them can only be kept in school by perpetual 
change in the subject offered for class work. These many 
departments of manual training answer this requirement, 
and at the same time are useful to the children, as is proved 
by the fact that the boys and girls obtain better wages and 
more rapid promotion in the factories and shops." 

As in the case of the day nursery and the little children's 
school, these schools for older children again furnish the 
opportunity for establishing friendly relations with the 
families from which the children come. Here pressing needs 
may often be judiciously relieved, and, above all, such advice 
and instruction be given as will help to lift the entire family 
to a higher plane of living. 

e. The Care and Training of Dependent Children 

For the care and training of orphans and other dependent 
children two systems are in vogue — the institutional and the 
family. Both have their advantages and their disadvantages. 
In favor of the former it is claimed that a well-managed in- 
stitution secures to the child a better environment, better 
sanitary conditions, better facilities for intellectual, physi- 
cal, and religious training, and better protection against the 
corrupting influences of the street than is usually the case 
under the placing-out system. On the contrary, it is urged 
that the institutional system, besides being far more expen- 



CARE AND TRAINING OF CHILDREN 1 45 

sive, is artificial and stiff; that it robs the child of the joyous 
freedom which up to a certain point the child nature requires; 
that it destroys initiative and individuaHty by making life 
too easy, and hence does not prepare the child for the duties 
and experiences of real life; and that the massing of large 
numbers of every possible grade and condition often results 
in physical and moral contamination.^ 

The advocates of the placing-out system rightly maintain 
that the family is the God-ordained institution for the care 
and training of children; that well-regulated and Christian 
home Hfe, with its atmosphere of love and freedom, is the 
best developer of character; and that the natural home gives 
opportunities for individual treatment and sets a multitude 
of beneficent influences at work that are too often not found 
in the institution. But, on the other hand, it must not be 
forgotten that for placing-out ideal families cannot always 
be found in sufficient number, especially for children that 
already betray vicious propensities; that families will often 
take a child for what it can be to them rather than for what 
they can be to it; that sufficient care is not always exercised 
in the selection of families; that frequent mistakes are there- 
fore made, to the detriment of the child; and that, perhaps 
above all, the home-finding agency, with many children to 
look after, cannot perform this duty with a sufficient degree 
of thoroughness. 

As each system thus has its favorable and its unfavorable 

» "How is a child to learn to use matches if he lives in a btiilding with steam 
heat and electric hght? How will the child learn to cook in the ordinary 
home where nothing but great ranges are used for cooking? How learn to 
wash under ordinary circumstances where the laundry does work for one or 
two hundred people? What experience can a boy have here that would 
qualify him to bring in wood? How learn to carry water where there is noth- 
ing to do but turn the stop-cock? How will a child learn to tell the time of 
day where everything moves at the stroke of a bell or the word of command ? 
How obtain any appreciation whatever of the value of money when everything 
comes to him as if the world had been arranged to provide him with each 
thing that he needs and just as he needs it? There is, in fact, no proper 
development of the child's inventiveness or individuality, or even of his ambi- 
tions. A hundred institution children deluged with toys at Christmas enjoy 
them less, and feel less gratitude, than the children of the individual home 
who have learned to long for things, and learned to know in some sort what 
it costs to provide them." — Warner: American Charities, pp. 225, 226. 



140 FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 

side, it has in recent years been found best to combine the 
most useful features of both. Orphan asylums and children's 
homes are becoming more and more only temporary refuges; 
while, on the other hand, many placing-out societies have 
found it necessary to establish receiving homes in which 
children can remain and undergo some preparatory training 
until the proper family for each is found. ^ 

The class of children usually regarded as dependents in- 
cludes, besides orphans and half-orphans, those who are 
cruelly treated, neglected or deserted, or whose parents are 
drunkards, paupers, or criminals. 

The modern orphan asylum system will ever remain asso- 
ciated with the name of August Hermann Francke (March 22, 
1663-June 8, 1727), who in 1695 began a school for poor 
children at Halle, and in 1698 opened the first Lutheran home 
for orphans. To these one institution after the other was 
added, so that by the year of Francke's death the complex 
of institutions established by him consisted of a pedagogium 
(grammar school), a Latin school, a German school, an 
orphanage, a publication concern, a drug store, and a large 
dining-hall for students and poor day scholars. The total 
number of children in the several schools was 2200 (among 
them 134 orphans), in the instruction of whom 8 inspectors, 
167 male, and 8 female teachers were employed. The 
" Francke Institutions " are still attended by fully 3000 
pupils, and constitute one of the largest, if not the largest, 
establishment in the world in which the aim is to fit children 
on a Christian educational basis for any position in life. 

' " Temporary detention is essential as preliminary preparation for family 
life, but except in the cases of defective children — mentally or physically defect- 
ive ones — it has little value after it has served the purpose named. ... It 
is felt that institution life must be unnatural, that long continuance in it handi- 
caps the boy or girl for outside life. What a child needs in an institution is 
provided for it. It has a vague idea of some power which provides; but noth- 
ing is re(|uired of him or her, no sacrifice, no effort. Life in an institution 
means crippling powers intended to he used: life in a family means using 
and developing these powers. ... No child should stay so long in an 
institution that there is begotten a helplessness, a spirit of dependence, than 
which nothing is more ignoble in itself or more deplorable in its consequences." 
— Mrs. Anne B. Richardson: History of Child Saving in the United States, 
pp. 64, 65. 



CARE AND TRAINING OF CHILDREN 1 47 

The impulse given by Francke soon made itself widely felt, 
and resulted in the founding of numerous orphans' homes 
throughout Germany.^ In England George Miiller (1805- 
1898) began the great orphanage at Bristol, in 1836; and in 
1904 there were in the United States 1075 such institutions, 
478 of which were under ecclesiastical control, including 
those of the Roman Catholic Church. 

During the first half of the last century the placing-out 
system sprang into favor in Germany, and to carry this 
system into execution numerous societies called Erziehungs- 
vereine were organized. The oldest of these dates from the 
year 1823. This movement was especially fostered by the 
Swiss Pastor Andreas Bram (i 797-1882), whose society, 
organized in 1845, ^t Neukirchen on the Rhine, became the 
model for many others. It was to be the purpose of such 
societies to find suitable Christian famihes for the care and 
training of orphaned, deserted, and neglected children, in 
which normal home life and parental love, instruction, and 
example all combined to develop character, and where effi- 
cient supervision could at all times be exercised by the agents 
of the society. 

In the United States similar societies exist to-day under 
the names of Children's Aid, Children's Home, and Kinder- 
freund Societies. Of the latter there are thirteen, located 
chiefly in the Middle West and Northwest, and all of them 
connected with the Missouri Synod of the Evangelical 
Lutheran Church. The Children's Aid Society of New York, 
founded in 1853 by Charles Loring Brace, is the pioneer 
of the placing-out system in this country. This society, mth 
little or no endowment, and at a cost of but three-fourths 
of a million dollars, had until 1903 rescued and placed in 
family homes 22,528 orphan or abandoned children, provided 
situations at wages in the country for 24,864 older boys and 
girls, and restored 5201 runaway children to parents. Says 
the Fiftieth Annual Report: " Of those placed in family 
homes in the West, the vast majority have become farmers 

> Total number 251 in 1899. 



148 FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 

or farmers' wives. Of the others, we know, from our care- 
fully kept registers, that one became Governor of a State, and 
one of a Territory, two have been members of Congress, two 
sheriffs, three District Attorneys, three County Commis- 
sioners, and several have been members of State Legislatures. 
In the business world, twenty-six became bankers, four hun- 
dred and fifty-one are in business, thirty-four are lawyers, 
twenty- two are merchants, seventeen are physicians, eight 
are postmasters, thirty-nine are railroad men, several being 
high officials, ten are real estate agents, fifteen are journalists, 
eighty-five are teachers, several being high school principals, 
and one a city Superintendent of Schools, one a civil engineer, 
over one thousand entered the army and navy, and twenty- 
one are clergymen. 

" What a record is this! No other method of caring for 
dependent children compares with this, either in results 
accomplished or money saved. It is no new gospel. It is 
a living witness to the old social order — family fife, parental 
love and influence, the training of each day's common ex- 
perience." 

Other Children's Aid Societies, notably those of Penn- 
sylvania and Massachusetts, are doing similar work \vith 
correspondingly good results. Children's Home Societies 
are found in twenty-nine states, federated in 1883 for mutual 
cooperation and encouragement into the National Children's 
Home Society, with headquarters in Chicago. These have 
cared for more than 28,000 children in twxnty-five years, and 
are now caring for over 4000 each year. 

Among the conclusions of the Conference on the Care of 
Dependent Children held by invitation of President Roose- 
velt in Washington, D. C, January 25 and 26, 1909, the 
following perhaps best illustrate the present trend of thought 
of this subject: 

"As to the children who for sufficient reasons must be re- 
moved from their own homes, or who have no homes, it is 
desirable that, if normal in mind and body, and not requiring 
special training, they should be cared for in families whenever 



CARE AND TRAINING OF CHILDREN 1 49 

practicable. The carefully selected foster home is for the 
normal child the best substitute for the natural home.^ Such 
homes should be selected by a most careful process of investi- 
gation, carried on by skilled agents, through personal investi- 
gation, and with due regard to the religious faith of the child. 
After children are placed in homes, adequate visitation, with 
careful consideration of the physical, mental, moral, and spir- 
itual training and development of each child, on the part of 
the responsible home-finding agency, is essential. 

" It is recognized that for many children foster homes with- 
out payment for board are not practicable immediately after 
the children become dependent, and that for children requiring 
temporary care only, the free home is not available. For the 
temporary, or more or less permanent, care of such_ children 
different methods are in use, notably the plan of placing them 
in families; paying for their board; and the plan of institu- 
tional care. Contact with family life is preferable for these 
children, as well as for other normal children. It is necessary, 
however, that a large number of carefully selected boarding 
homes be found, if these children are to be cared for in families. 
The extent to which such families can be found should be ascer- 
tained by careful inquiry and experiment in each locality. 
Unless and until such homes are found, the use of institutions 
is necessary. 

" So far as it may be found necessary to temporarily or per- 
manently care for certain classes of children in institutions, 
these institutions should be conducted on the cottage plan as 
far as possible." (See p. 65 £f, Wichern and the Rauhe Haus.) 

But whether it be the institution or the foster home, each 
must be the best of its kind. In each all those influences 
must be at work that make for character and efficiency, 
and prepare the child for an honorable and useful life. In 
both the persons to whose care the child is committed become 
the most potent factor in shaping its future career. " If 
the placing-out system has any great advantage over institu- 
tional care, it will be on account of the superior personalities 
with whom the child comes in contact, or a larger share in 
association mth those personalities than is possible in the 
institution. On the other hand, if the institution is so man- 
aged that the children come into intimate relations with 
adult characters who are strong, sympathetic, intellectually 
alert, and socially, morally, and spiritually uplifting, it 
ceases to be a mere abiding place where the creature comforts 
only are provided, and becomes a school home from which 



150 FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 

the children go forth better prepared to make their own way 
in the world than are most of those set adrift from their 
parental homes at the same age."^ 

III. The Training and Preservation of Young People 

However excellent a training the young may have received 
diu*ing their childhood years, this does not absolutely guaran- 
tee their safety when once they leave home or institution 
behind, and for the first time face the world as it is. Then 
the question of an occupation and the making of a living 
presents itself. New connections and associations are 
formed. Temptations unknown before are met. Diffi- 
culties and discouragements must be overcome. Life in 
earnest has its beginning, for which much is still needed to 
make one strong and capable. To protect, counsel, and 
instruct the young during this dangerous formative period, 
especially so amid the distractions and enticements of city 
and town, is the purpose of a large number of Inner Mission 
agencies. 

a. Schools for the Training of Domestics 

In his explanation of the Fourth Petition of the Lord's 
Prayer Luther includes " trustworthy servants " among the 
temporal blessings for which we may pray. Such servants 
the schools for the training of domestics seek to supply. 
Their object is clearly set forth in the statutes of the school 
at Stuttgart, which declare: " The purpose of this institution 
is the training of competent domestics who will serve their 
masters according to the flesh, not with eye-service, as men- 
pleasers, but in singleness of heart and in the fear of God." 

Various causes have contributed to bring about the so- 
called " servant girl problem," which is to-day vexing 
Germany as much as America. Among these are the arro- 
gance and inconsideratcncss of many masters and mistresses; 
the frequent incompetency of girls who arc still willing to 

> Reeder: How Two Hundred Children Live and Learn, p. 194. 



TRAINING AND PRESERVATION OF YOUNG PEOPLE 151 

undertake domestic service; the mistaken idea of others that 
such service is degrading; the desire of girls to have all even- 
ings free for the pursuit of pleasure; and the consequent seek- 
ing of employmicnt in factories and stores where, by reason 
of inadequate wages, improper friendships, and subtle tempta- 
tions, morality and virtue often receive their first wrench. 
Moreover, girls whose work has for some years been of this 
kind have in the meantime learned little or nothing of house- 
hold duties, nor cared to do so, and are, as a rule, as dis- 
quaUfied to become housewives and mothers and to conduct 
a household of their own as are those brought up in the idle- 
ness, pride, and luxury bred by wealth. 

The work of preparing girls for domestic service by giving 
them systematic training in a special institution, received its 
first strong impulse from Theodor Fliedner of Kaiserswerth. ' 
In 1854 he established his " Marthashof " in Berlin, which was 
both a training-school for domestics and a temporary home 
for girls out of position and seeking a place (p. 152). To- 
day such training-schools to the number of thirty-eight are 
found in all the leading cities of Germany, in which girls 
from fourteen to eighteen years of age, who have already been 
confirmed and bring good testimonials, are taught all kinds 
of housework, and in addition receive religious and other 
instruction. The girls live in the institution, deaconesses 
are generally in charge, the course lasts on an average two 
years, and the thirty-eight schools are attended by over 
one thousand pupils. In most of them a small monthly 
charge is made for board. To provide a sufficient amount 
and variety of work it is often desirable to establish close 
relations with some other institutions, e. g., with a day 
nursery or Christian kindergarten to learn how to care for 
children; or with a deaconess house, whose kitchen, laundry, 
sewing room, etc., ofier the most abundant facilities for 
acquiring a practical knowledge of all kinds of housework. 

Besides the above there are scattered throughout Germany 
163^ other schools of the same kind for day scholars only. 

1 Statistics of 1899. 



152 FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 

These are attended by girls whose purpose is not to become 
domestics, but proficient housekeepers. 



b. Shelters for Domestics 

Ninety shelters for domestics {Magdeherbergen) are found 
in the leading cities of Germany whose object it is to afford 
a safe temporary home to servants out of employment, 
and to girls who come from the country to the city to find 
work. Only those who have opportunity to learn something 
of the Satanic means employed to entrap such improtected 
and inexperienced girls can fully realize to what dangers they 
are exposed. Statistics kept in Berlin for a period of four 
years show that very few of the girls who had been directed 
to the shelter were subsequently found in the Charite Hospital 
as fallen and diseased women; whereas a startlingly large 
number not thus directed had become charges of the hospital. 

The first such shelter was opened in Paris in 1847. In 1854 
Fliedner began his " Marthashof " in Berlin, which, as before 
stated, was to serve the double purpose of a training-school 
for domestics and a temporary home for unemployed girls. 
Of the ninety shelters in Germany, thirty-four are combined 
with training-schools, and thirty-seven with hospices; and 
nearly all of them make it their business to obtain good 
situations for girls. Wholesome reading matter, inter- 
course with those in charge — usually deaconesses — and daily 
prayers serve as moral and spiritual influences. 

The M'ddchenheime, of which there are quite a number, 
as distinguished from the Magdeherbergen, have a somewhat 
different purpose in view. Some of these are designed to be 
permanent Christian homes for business women, teachers, 
art students, etc. ; others are for the transient accommodation 
of women. In the main these correspond to the boarding 
homes maintained by the Young Women's Christian Asso- 
ciations and other bodies in many American cities. 

For factory girls homes of still another kind {Fabrikarbeiter- 
innenherbergen) are provided. Perhaps no class of girls away 



TRAINING AND PRESERVATION OF YOUNG PEOPLE 1 53 

from their own home are more in need of protection than 
these. In their place of work they are often brought into 
contact with men and women of loose morals; and in the cheap 
boarding-houses, to which inadequate wages condemn them, 
the conditions are generally not much better. Finding no 
attractive features in these as a relief from the incessant 
grind of daily toil, and to break the dreary monotony of 
existence amid such surroundings, the street, the cheap 
theater, and the dance hall are too often sought at night, and 
all those dangers are encountered that have in numberless 
cases brought ruin and shame. Hence the homes for girls 
who work in factories, in which, at very moderate rates, they 
find good board, agreeable and wholesome surroundings, 
instruction in housekeeping for those who desire it, and, above 
all, the atmosphere of the Christian family. 

The first home of this kind was established by Karl 
Mez, in Freiburg, Baden, in 1845 (p. 75), to be followed by 
many others since then. Some are intended only for the 
operatives in a particular establishment; others are general 
and take girls of good character from any factory. In 1899 
there were thirty-five such homes in Germany. 

c. Young Men^s Societies 

Young men's societies, having for their specific purpose the 
promotion of the mental, spiritual, and social welfare of their 
members, and thus to train them for intelligent and active 
participation in the work of the Church, had their origin 
in Germany, and trace their beginnings to the third decade 
of the last century (Bremen 1834, Barmen 1836, Elberfeld 
1838). In 1848 nine local societies joined in forming the 
Rhenish- Westphalian Young Men's Union. Since then nine 
similar unions have been organized in the different provinces, 
composed in 1908 of 1963 local societies, having a combined 
membership of 114,825. In 1896 the provincial unions 
effected a National Union. 

The great majority of German young men's societies are 



154 FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 

conducted by pastors, in closest affiliation with the Church. 
To develop and strengthen the spiritual life of the members 
hours for the study and explanation of the Scriptures are 
arranged. To promote general culture instructive lectures 
and discussions on a great variety of subjects are held, good 
libraries and periodicals are provided, and music is given much 
attention.^ For physical training many of the societies have 
their gymnasia. Special encouragement is given the mem- 
bers to engage in some form of Christian service, such as the 
Sunday school, the distribution of tracts, sermons, and other 
Christian Hterature, the visitation of the sick, and in the 
larger cities the hunting up of young men who are still 
strangers and need some one's friendly interest. In laying 
large stress on fidehty to the Church in faith and works the 
young people's societies of Germany, both male and female, 
perhaps find their closest analogue in the strictly denomina- 
tional societies of American churches. 

The Young Men's Christian Association of the Anglo- 
American type was introduced into Germany in 1883. From 
Berlin, where the first organization was effected, it has spread 
to a number of other large cities. A layman instead of a 
pastor is the head of a local association; and, as in England 
and America, the membership is divided into active and 
associate; whereas to the other young men's societies of 
Germany only confirmed members of the Church are eligible. 
The interdenominational character of the Young Men's 
Christian Association, the indifference with which it treats 
doctrinal distinctions, and its frequently somewhat negative 
attitude towards the Church as the only repository of the 
means of grace, hardly commend it to universal favor in 
Germany and the Scandinavian countries. There, as 
among us, it is often found that those who become most 
active in the Association lose much of their interest in the 
congregation and church to which they belong. 

'Thus in 1907 there wore in the various societies 10,621 members who 
belonged to their trombone choirs, and 13,^56 who sang in their male choruses. 



TRAINIKG AND PRESERVATION OF YOUNG PEOPLE 155 

d. Young Women's Societies 

The young women's societies, of which there were in 1909 
over 4000, with 100,000 members, are designed to do for 
young women what the young men's societies are to do for 
young men. Fully two-thirds of them have been organized 
and are guided by pastors and deaconesses. At the meet- 
ings, held weekly, fortnightly, and, in some instances, several 
times a week, Bible study, prayer, and song again occupy a 
chief place, while subjects of a generally instructive character 
are not neglected. Inner and foreign missions claim much 
attention, and the interest thus awakened leads some of the 
young women to become deaconesses, and others to offer 
their services for work among children, the sick, and the poor. 
Special evenings are also set apart for the entertainment and 
instruction of factory and store girls; and courses of instruc- 
tion in Christian work are offered to girls from the higher 
ranks of society. 

A service of vast importance, growing out of the work with 
and for young women, is the Bahnhofsmission (depot mis- 
sion), inaugurated in Berlin in 1894, and now extending to 
all the principal cities of Germany. The specific purpose 
of this is to guard girls and young women who leave their 
country home to seek work in the city against the snares so 
often set for them. Before they start they are in various 
ways instructed and warned concerning these; on the way, 
at leading railroad stations, they may find literature and 
further directions placed in their hands; and on their arrival 
some one to meet them and give them the necessary protection 
imtil safely housed. The name and street number of such 
new-comers is kept, so that they may subsequently be visited 
and counselled, directed to the nearest church, invited to the 
meetings of the society, and thus made to feel that though 
away from home some one takes a friendly interest in them. 

Since 1892 the various young women's societies have been 
brought into closer union through the efforts of Pastor 
Burkhardt of Berlin. 



156 FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 

Considerable work of the kind mentioned under sections 
a, b, and d is done in America by the Young Women's 
Christian Associations and kindred organizations. 

IV. The Protection of the Imperiled 

Modern industrial conditions and the facilities for quick 
and cheap transportation serve in these days to attract 
thousands from their homes and country in search of em- 
ployment and in the hope of improving their temporal ' 
estate. But this separation from the sacred influences of 
home and church into new surroundings has its moral dan- 
gers; and not infrequently the change leads to complete 
spiritual shipwreck. To neutralize these dangers as far as 
possible it becomes necessary to put into operation such 
agencies as are best adapted to each class whom it is designed 
to benefit. 

a. Diaspora Missions 

In the New Testament the Greek term dia<j7:opd (John 
7 : 35; James i : i ; i Peter i : i) stands for "The Dispersion," 
and is used to designate that portion of the Jews " scattered 
abroad " in heathen countries beyond Palestine. By 
" diaspora missions " we to-day mean the work done by the 
Protestant Church of Germany in providing for the spiritual 
wants of those of its members who have gone to other lands, 
and who, by reason of their surroundings, are deprived of 
the means of grace in their own faith and language. 

To aid Protestant families and congregations in Roman 
Catholic countries the Gustav-Adolf Society was formed. 
The idea of such a society was first conceived by Dr. C. G. 
L. Grossmann of Leipzig, and found expression when the 
second centennial of the death of the Swedish hero was 
celebrated at Liitzen, November 6, 1832. The society was 
to be a living monument to the great deliverer of Protestant- 
ism, designed for the benefit of those for whom he died. Its 
success was at first insignificant. But in 1841, in response 




I ! 

I .-Li 






.,(1/ 



■ "Iff 



: c 



PROTECTION OF THE IMPERILED 1 57 

to an appeal by Court-preacher Zimmermann, of Darmstadt, 
it began to grow rapidly. In 1907 it comprised forty-five 
minor associations, 2035 local, and 696 women's branches. 
Its receipts during the same year were 2,017,525 marks, and 
its expenditures 1,780,999 marks. Its assets to-day amount 
to fully 5,000,000 marks. Since its foundation it has spent 
almost 50,000,000 marks in its work; and until the close of 
the year 1907 had assisted 5790 congregations, built 2482 
churches and chapels, 903 schoolhouses, and 939 parsonages, 
established 120 cemeteries, aided numerous benevolent in- 
stitutions, and in many cases paid the salaries of pastors and 
teachers. 

As the Gustav-Adolf Society is unionistic, having as its 
main bond not a confessional basis, but the negation of 
Romanism, and aiding Lutheran and Reformed alike, a distinc- 
tively Lutheran society was organized in 1853 known as the 
Gotteskasten. This confines its work exclusively to the 
Lutheran Diaspora, not only among Roman Catholics but 
also among other non-Lutherans, and lays chief stress not on 
the building of churches, parsonages, schoolhouses, etc., but 
on establishing Lutheran preaching stations and supplying 
these with pastors and teachers. Its income in 1907 was 
112,877 marks. 

b. Emigrant Missions 

In exchanging his native land for another the emigrant 
enters upon a course that may prove disastrous to him in more 
ways than one. He leaves friends and associations behind. 
He breaks the ties that bind him to country, home, and 
church. He comes into a new and different environment, 
to which he often finds it difficult to adapt himself, and in 
which he for a long while remains a comparative stranger. 
And not infrequently, even before he starts, and still more so 
when he lands, he is victimized by sharpers, who, taking 
advantage of his ignorance and credulity, get away with his 
money. Hence the need of giving him advice and protec- 
tion. 



158 FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 

The beginning of this is often made weeks before his de- 
parture. At this stage it is the pastor who usually renders 
the chief assistance. He communicates with the emigration 
authorities, frequently makes the arrangements for passage, 
and places into the hands of those going such literature as 
will serve to give them the needed counsel. On the last 
Sunday in the home land, and when they are for the last time 
assembled with their congregation, special prayers are offered 
for them. In many places, indeed, a special farewell ser\dce is 
held, at which the Holy Communion is administered; and 
at Eppe, in Waldeck, the beautiful custom prevails of having 
each one of those who are about to depart come to the altar, 
there by prayer and the laying on of hands to be committed 
to God's loving care. 

At the port of departure the emigrants are taken in charge 
by the missionary and his assistants. Here every protec- 
tion is afforded, additional warnings are given, money is 
exchanged, and baggage transfered. Bibles, prayer books, 
and other reading are distributed, services are held, the Holy 
Communion is administered to those who desire it, and, last 
of all, cards are supplied by which the missionary at the port 
of landing may identify the new-comers; ^nd when they 
already know their destination, as is often the case, they are 
also given a letter of introduction to the pastor of the place. 

The principal German Emigrant Missions are found in 
Hamburg (1875) and Bremen (1881). For the reception and 
care of the incoming thousands Lutheran Emigrant Houses 
are maintained in New York, Boston, and Baltimore. 

c. Seamen's Missions 

Great as are the dangers to which the seaman is exposed 
on the water, greater dangers await him on land. In the 
one case they threaten chiefly the body, in the other body and 
soul. Almost as soon as he sets his foot on shore he is under 
the hire of the saloon, the brothel, and the conscienceless 
lodguig-house keeper, whose only object is to relieve him of 



PROTECTION OF THE IMPERILED 1 59 

his money as quickly as possible; nor does he, as a rule, hesi- 
tate long, after the weeks — perhaps months — of privation he 
has endured, to plunge headlong into the wildest excesses. 

The first efforts in behalf of seamen were made in England. 
As early as 1780 a society was organized in London to supply 
EngUsh troops in Hyde Park and seamen in the Enghsh navy 
with copies of the Holy Scriptures. In 1814 the real pioneer 
of the movement, George Charles Smith, a converted sailor, 
and afterwards a dissenting minister, established prayer- 
meetings for seamen on the Thames at London. To-day, 
besides the local societies which limit the prosecution of work 
to their own ports, the British and Foreign Sailors' Society 
(1833) and the London Missions to Seamen (1856) support 
chaplains and missionaries at numerous English and foreign 
ports, the London society also carrying on many operations 
afloat in so-called bethels or floating chapels. 

In the United States the first society for work among sea- 
men was organized at Boston in 181 2, but had only a brief 
existence. In 181 7 the Marine Bible Society of New York 
was formed, followed in 181 8 by the society now known 
as the New York Port Society. Similar associations for 
local work came into existence at Charleston, S. C. (1819); 
Philadelphia, Pa. (1819); Portland, Me., and New Orleans, 
La. (1823); New Bedford, Mass. (1825), and elsewhere. 
In 1828 the American Seamen's Friend Society was organ- 
ized in New York to secure the moral and physical as well 
as the spiritual well-being of the sailors by " promoting in 
every port boarding-houses of good character, savings- 
banks, register-offices, libraries, museums, reading-rooms, 
and schools, and also the ministrations of the Gospel and 
other religious blessings." The work of this society is to-day 
world-wide and most efficient. In many American ports 
local societies are also active. 

The Scandinavian countries, which furnish so large a pro- 
portion of the world's sailors, were the second in point of time 
to interest themselves in the welfare of seamen. The 
Fatherland Society of Sweden (1869), and the Norwegian 



l60 FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 

(1864), Danish, and Finnish (1880) Societies have stations 
in all parts of the world, and do an extended and beneficient 
work. 

In his Denkschrijt Wichern already spoke of the great need 
of such work among German seamen, and called attention 
to what was being done in England and America, but only 
after the lapse of three and a half decades was it energetically 
taken in hand. Then, in 1885, the General Seamen's Mis- 
sion Committee for Great Britain was organized, to care for 
German seamen in English ports. About the same time the 
German Lutheran Seemannsfursorge-Verhand at Hanover 
came into existence. And in 1895 a third organization, 
known as the Komitee fur deutsch-evangelische Seemanns- 
mission, was brought into being by the Central Inner Mission 
Committee at Berlin. According to the statistics of 1909 
these committees then maintained missionaries, reading- 
rooms, etc., in 175 ports for the benefit of German seamen. 

In the United States Lutheran Seam^en's Missions are 
located in Hoboken, Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Boston, and 
San Francisco. 

Against the manifold temptations which beset the seamen 
on shore, and the extortionate practices of the sharks who 
offer their services as employment agents, the best protec- 
tion is a seamen's home, with its lodging, dining, reading, 
writing, and recreation rooms, its well-stocked library, and 
its afiiliated savings-bank and employment bureau. Here 
the missionary should also have his headquarters and do 
much of his pastoral work. Here or in its neighborhood 
should be found a chapel to which he invites the sailors on 
his visits to vessels and whenever he has the opportunity; 
those who are in hospitals or, perhaps, in prison will likewise 
claim his attention; Bibles, tracts, and other Christian 
literature will be freely distributed by him and his helpers; 
and thus in every way the spiritual, moral, and even physical 
well-being of those who come under his care is safe-guarded 
as far as possible. 




Seamen's Home, Philadelphia Seamen's Home, Hoboken, N. J. 



PROTECTIOM OF THE IMPERILED l6l 

d. Christian Inns for Men 

A unique institution of the German Inner Mission is the 

Herberge zur Heimath, or Christian Inn. Not many years 
ago the German youth who had served his apprenticeship 
was still required to spend a few years (Wanderjahre) in 
traveling on foot from place to place, working now here, now 
there, to learn different methods and to perfect himself in 
his chosen trade. With slender means at his command, and 
away from home, he was too often obliged to find shelter and 
entertainment at the cheapest taverns, where he came under 
the most demoralizing influences. In 1844 Wichern had 
already said: " Whoever lets his son go into distant parts as 
a traveling artisan sends him into a desert in which hun- 
dreds of thousands wander about without any support for 
their inner spiritual life, and whose hundreds of corrupting 
dens the young man is compelled to enter. The ordinary 
inns for journeymen mechanics have been the ruin of hundreds 
and thousands of young artisans whose home training was of 
the best." 

To guard such young men on their travels against evil 
associations by providing a substitute for the Christian home 
the so-called Herbergen zur Heimath, or Christian Inns, were 
established. Their originator was Professor Clemens Theo- 
dor Perthes (1809-1867), of Bonn, at whose instigation the 
Inner Mission Society of said city opened the first institu- 
tion of this kind on the 21st of May, 1854, and placed a brother 
from the Rauke Hans in charge. Though greatly altered 
industrial conditions have almost brought about the ex- 
tinction of the old-time traveling mechanic, the Christian 
Inns continue to serve a most useful purpose, either as a 
transient stopping-place for men seeking employment or as a 
permanent abode for those whose small earnings compel 
them to five in the most modest style. This is apparent 
from the fact that very considerably more than half the 
present number of Herbergen have been estabHshed since 1883, 
or, in other words, thirty years after the opening of the first 



1 62 FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 

one there were only i6i as compared with 452 in 1907, with 
over 19,000 beds. In 1883 the Herbergs-Verband waisiormed, 
with Dr. von Bodelschwingh as president, to whose initiative 
and energetic labors the extraordinary development of this 
cause since then must be chiefly attributed. The oflacial 
organ of the Verband is Der Wanderer. 

The Herberge is neither a charity nor a money-making 
institution, but a Christian protective agency. Those who 
avail themselves of its hospitality pay for what they get, 
but at the lowest possible rates. The means for establishing 
a Herberge are gathered by the local association responsible 
for its management. In most instances the housefather is a 
trained brother, and his wife the housemother. In every 
case the housefather receives a fixed salary and free living, so 
as to remove every temptation to make a profit for himself. 
Morning and evening prayers are held, and though attendance 
is optional, many avail themselves of the privilege, and are 
thus benefited spiritually. In its appointments the house is 
made as attractive and comfortable as the means will allow, 
is kept scrupulously clean, and is open to any respectable 
artisan, regardless of creed. The evenings are spent socially, 
but card-playing is not allowed nor is strong drink sold. 
Most Herbergen also have intelligence bureaus to aid men 
in procuring employment; and a considerable number are 
open to men in employment, not only as a permanent home 
for such as desire it, but also as a place where the young 
mechanics of the neighborhood can gather in the evening 
and on Sunday, to read and write, and to enjoy pleasant 
companionship without the usual temptations of the average 
public house. Of considerable importance and practical 
value is the savings-bank system connected with the 
Herbergen J which enables men readily to deposit their earnings 
for safe-keeping and exchange. 

The number of guests entertained in the Herbergen during 
1907 was 2,070,078. 



PROTECTION OF THE IMPERILED 163 

e. Hospices 

For travelers, including women, who desire better accom- 
modations and can pay higher rates, hospices are connected 
with a large number of Herbergen, but in all their arrange- 
ments strictly separated from these. Altogether separate 
hospices to the number of forty-nine are found in German 
cities. These are, to all intents and purposes, well-ap- 
pointed hotels, conducted in a first-class manner so far as 
creature comforts are concerned, but having the following 
distinguishing features: i, Morning and evening prayers; 
2, adaptation of rooms, entertainment, and other accom- 
modations to the demands of the classes for which the 
house is intended; 3, moderate charges calculated on the 
basis of the cost of living in a given neighborhood; 4, con- 
scientious insistence on absolute cleanliness; 5, in lieu of 
fees or tips (except for special services) an adequate addi- 
tion to the regular bill (usually 10 per cent.). The Verband 
christUcher Hospize in 1908 comprised besides the 49 in 
Germany, 3 in Switzerland, 2 in Italy, and i in Norway, 
besides 6 rest houses (Erholungshauser) in Germany. Like 
numerous Herbergen, many of the hospices also serve as 
Vereinshduser, i. e., as headquarters of Inner Mission 
societies. 

The hospice idea has been transplanted to America, but 
to meet somewhat different needs, and therefore in a some- 
what different form. Here the several institutions of the 
Lutheran Church passing under this name are meant to be 
chiefly permanent Christian homes for young men or women 
who come to the larger cities either to study or to engage in 
some occupation. Perhaps for the first time removed from the 
wholesome atmosphere of the Christian family and brought 
into contact with the numerous demoralizing influences of a 
large city no one needs the nurture and protection of such a 
home more than these. Left without friendly advisers, 
e:cposed to many temptations, and often compelled by lack 
of means to find quarters in a cheap boarding-house located 



1 64 FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 

perhaps in a vile neighborhood, it need not be a matter of 
surprise that many are quickly caught in the current that 
sweeps them away from the Church and everything spiritual, 
and are carried to ruin in body and soul. Against this de- 
structive current, which only those of mature character suc- 
cessfully resist, the hospice seeks to erect a barrier in its en- 
deavor to actualize as nearly as possible the life of the Chris- 
tian household. A Christian housefather or housemother 
(pastor or deaconess) is placed at the head, daily prayers are 
held, a personal interest is taken in each inmate, friendly 
counsel is given, regular church going is encouraged, and thus 
the hospice becomes a conservator of character and of the 
spiritual life. In laying large stress on these features, whilst 
offering at the same time all the comforts and refinements 
of a well-conducted home, the Lutheran hospices in America 
differ from somewhat similar institutions for women found in 
leading cities, which often are little else than very respectable 
boarding-houses. 

The Luther Hospice for Young Men, at No. 157 N. Twen- 
tieth Street, Philadelphia, opened by the Inner Mission 
Society of said city September i, 1905, was the first Lutheran 
hospice in America. Since then hospices have been estab- 
lished in Minneapolis, St. Louis, and Chicago. 

f. Some Other Forms of Protective Work 

I. Kellner-Mission, or Mission among Waiters. *' The 
vocation of a waiter," says Hennig, " is a vocation without a 
Sunday, without evening leisure, without the pleasant asso- 
ciations of family life, and generally without a settled home. 
What a menace the constant confinement in a vitiated at- 
mosphere is to the body! And how the soul is endangered 
by association with people whose only object is pleasure, and 
by the wretched tipping system!" 

In 1880 the City Missions of Berlin, Hamburg, and other 
cities, together with various young men's societies, began 
work among this class of employes by serving them with 






Luther Hospice, Philadelphia 




Hospice. Frankfort-ox -the- 
Main 



Hospice, Dresden 




Hospice for Young Women, Minneapolis, Minn. 



PROTECTION OF THE IMPERILED 1 65 

Christian literature and arranging night meetings for relig- 
ious purposes; but no great progress was made until the 
establishment of the Kellnerheime in London and Frankfort- 
on-the-Main, in 1892 and 1898 respectively, and the founding 
of Der Kellnerfreund as the organ of the Committee for the 
Promotion of Christian Life among Waiters, now the Inter- 
national Society of Hotel Waiters. In addition to the two 
mentioned above, Kellnerheime are now found in Cannes, 
Dusseldorf, Berlin, Breslau, Hamburg, Geneva, Paris, 
Leipzig, Cologne, and New York. Among the features 
of these homes are the following: Agreeable entertainment at 
moderate prices for those out of employment or on a vacation; 
counsel and information; rooms for reading and writing; 
library; opportunities for music; lecture courses; facilities 
for obtaining positions and depositing savings; daily devo- 
tions and stated gatherings for religious purposes; all the 
advantages of a Christian home. The person in charge 
usually reads the lessons and prayers for the day, together 
with a sermonette, from a volume especially prepared for 
this purpose, but attendance at such services is purely 
volimtary and religion is obtruded upon no one. In the 
smaller cities in which there are no Heime, more or less in- 
terest is beginning to be taken in waiters by pastors and city 
missionaries. 

2. The Fluss-schiffer-Mission, or Mission among Rivermen, 
labors among the 150,000 Protestants who navigate the 
streams of Germany. For a large part of the year these have 
their " home " — often with wife and children — on the water, 
and are now here, now there. Subject to constant change, 
and practically without a Sunday, they have few oppor- 
tunities for spiritual improvement, whilst at the same time 
encountering many moral dangers. To provide the former 
and guard against the latter is the purpose of the Fluss- 
schifer-Mission. It does so by distributing large quantities 
of Christian literature, arranging for services on vessels and 
in other places, and in caring for the religious instruction 
and training of the thousands of children who are obliged to 



1 66 FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 

accompany their parents. Thus an association in Berlin 
has had built and maintains a large boat containing a chapel, 
in which regular sevices are held, and baptisms, communions, 
marriages, and confirmations take place. Two deacons are 
employed to visit boats and render helpful service to the 
crews. A boatmen's home has been established, and a 
boatmen's association organized. Two children's refuges 
annually care for upwards of 5000 rivermen's children, who 
on Sundays attend service in the above-mentioned floating 
chapel. Since 1907 a home for rivermen's children has 
been in operation at Teltow, in charge of a deacon from the 
Rauhe Haus; at Ruhrort, Hamburg, Magdeburg, Konigs- 
berg, Memel, and Neufahrwasser rivermen's homes are 
found; Saxony and Silesia support special pastors for the 
work; and at several scores of places pastors and laymen 
render volunteer service. 

3. Other classes for whose spiritual care special provision 
is made are the Hollands ganger, the Sachseng'dnger, and the 
laborers on canals and railroads. For more than two hundred 
years large numbers of men have every summer gone from 
northwestern Germany to Holland to work as peat cutters, 
grass mowers, tile makers, and stucco workers; while more 
than 50,000 men and women, mostly under thirty years of 
age, every season leave their homes in eastern Germany to 
find employment as farm hands in Saxony and other parts of 
middle Germany. This separation from home, church, and 
family for half a year or more often brings with it a train of 
evil consequences — partial dissolution of family ties, dimin- 
ished respect for parental authority, abuse of one's freedom 
from restraint, contraction of evil habits, gradual alienation 
from the Church and things spiritual, and frequently quite 
unconscious absorption of socialistic and anti-christian views 
and principles. Similar and perhaps still greater dangers 
threaten those engaged in the construction of new railroads 
and canals, brought into contact as they often are with the 
very worst elements of widely dilTerent nationalities. 

As the needs of all these classes are essentially the same, 



SAVING OF THE LOST 1 67 

the methods for reUeving them are in each case almost 
identical. Whenever practicable those going away for a 
season are for the time being committed to the care and 
oversight of the pastors into whose parish they come; while 
in other cases itinerant preachers and colporteurs are em- 
ployed — especially so among the workmen on canals and 
railroads. In not a few instances special services mark the 
departure and return of these sojourners. 

V. The Saving of the Lost 

On the principle that prevention is better than cure, and 
with a view to their eUmination as far as possible, the causes 
which lead to delinquency have in recent years been much 
more carefully studied than formerly. Nevertheless, how- 
ever many preventive agencies may be set in motion, and 
however much good these may accomplish, there will always 
be some who are either imf ortunate enough not to come under 
their influence, or who, if they do, fail to be benefited by 
them. For these still further provision must be made in 
order to save them, if possible, and thus prevent them from 
becoming a menace to or a charge on society. 

a. Rescue Homes for the Young 

Among the most blessed fruits of German Inner Mission 
work are its 324^ rescue homes for neglected and delinquent 
children. The causes which produce juvenile delinquency are 
many. Perhaps in the majority of cases the parents are at 
fault. They may be altogether incompetent to train children. 
They may be too indulgent on the one hand or too rash and 
stern on the other. They may be compelled to earn their 
livmg away from home to the utter neglect of their children; 
or, where child-labor laws do not prevent, and sometimes in 
spite of them, the children themselves may be put to work 
while they should still be at school, often amid surroundings 

» In 1907. 



l68 FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 

that do them vast physical and moral injury. Then there 
are the parents who drink, the parents who loaf, the parents 
who teach their children to beg, steal, and lie, the parents 
who allow their boys to run with the " gang," and their 
girls to be out late at night. What wonder that children 
to whom the sweet influences of a real home are imknown, 
who, instead of prayers have heard oaths, in place of virtue 
have seen vice — yes, what wonder that such become subjects 
for the rescue home? ^ 

But some also find their way there whose surroundings 
and opportunities have been of the best. ^' The one black 
sheep of the family " is not a mere phrase, but only too fre- 
quently does it designate a reality that has broken many a 
father's and mother's heart. Because of its incorrigibility 
refused admission to public and private schools, the reform 
school in the end remains the only alternative for such a 
child. All such cases, unless mentally defective, present a 
psychological enigma which can be explained only on the 
ground of the exceeding sinfulness of the human heart. 

The first efforts in behalf of such children were made by 
the Swiss educator Pestalozzi, in an institution which he 
opened at Stanz in 1798. This w^as in operation only one 
year. Others, however, with more positive Christian con- 
victions than Pestalozzi had, soon followed in his footsteps 
and established institutions having a similar puipose, but 
thoroughly permeated by the spirit of the Gospel. Thus, 
Count von der Recke-Volmarstein, at Diisselthal, in the 
Rhine Province, in 1819; Christian H. Zeller, at Beuggen, 
Baden, in 1820; Johannes Falk," at Weimar, in 1821; C. A. 

1 Dr. Rudolph R. Rceder, Superintendent of the New York Orphan 
Asylum, Hastings-on-the-Hudson, says: "The delinquent child of to-day is 
the product of city and town life. Out of one hundred and thirty thousand 
children in our reformatories, ninety-eight i)er cent, come from cities, towns, 
and villages. In Baltimore crime is said to he fifty per cent, greater in the 
slum tenement district than in the city at large; in Chicago over two hundred 
per cent, greater." — How Two Hundred Children Live and Learn, p. i6o, 

2 "It was a ])rinciple of Talk's that the root of tlie evil had its chief source 
not in ignorance, but in sin; that it was not enough, therefore, to teach writing 
and arithmetic; that that was the least part of education; that it was more im- 
])ortant to impart the secret of u righteous life."— Stevenson: Praying and 
Workiu}^, p. 38. 



SAVING OF THE LOST 169 

Zeller, at Lichtenstern, Wiirttemberg, in 1836; and in Great 
Britain the Scotch divine, Thomas Guthrie, who established 
the so-called "ragged schools" (see biographical sketches, 
pp. 56, 57, 58, S9, and 80). ^ ^ ^ 

First in importance among the institutions under considera- 
tion is the Rauhe Haus, begun by Wichern at Hamburg in 
1833 (p. 66). Here Wichern introduced the following char- 
acteristic features: In separate houses the children were 
grouped into " families " of ten or twelve each, so as to make 
it possible to give each child the utmost individual care, not only 
spiritually hut also in every other respect; over these " famihes" 
housefathers were placed for whose training a special insti- 
tution (the first Diakonenhaus) was established; provision 
was made for manual training. As the number of children 
increased and new activities were added, building after build- 
ing was erected, so that to-day the institution is an aggrega- 
tion of structures, forming a small village in themselves. 
For the education and training of the insubordinate sons of 
wealthy parents a Pensionat or pay school, now known as 
the " Paulinum," was opened in 1852. 

Of the first dozen boys received by Wichern one had 
committed ninety-two thefts before he was twelve years 
of age; another had worn prison chains from which he had 
also managed to free himself; eight had stolen; and one of 
these was already half feeble-minded as the result of secret 
sins. The first dozen girls admitted seemed to Wichern to 
be still more degraded. After undergoing several changes 
of location the girls' department was in 1886 incorporated 
with Pastor Ninck's institution at Eppendorf , near Hamburg. 

Rescue homes of the Wichern type do not have the char- 
acter of an asylum or penal institution, but altogether that 
of the Christian home and family. On entrance the past is 
forgiven and never mentioned; no child is allowed to speak 
of its previous history to a companion; there are no rigid rules 
nor anything like military espionage, but as much freedom is 
allowed as is consistent with good order; and, above all, is 
every effort made to win a child's confidence and love. 



lyo FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 

The reformatory means employed comprise a judicious com- 
bination of work and recreation; instruction in the school- 
room; and, as the most potent of all, careful reHgious train- 
ing in and out of chapel, and constant and conscientious 
attention to the proper spiritual development of each child. 
It is, therefore, of the highest importance that those charged 
with the administration of rescue homes, whether for boys 
or girls, be men and women of ripe Christian experience, 
sound judgment, and much patience, who, lacking neither 
the loving heart nor the firm will, can, both by word and 
example, create an atmosphere in which those committed to 
their care are almost imconsciously influenced for better 
things. Hence deacons and deaconesses are, by reason of 
their training, especially well fitted for such work, and several 
hundred are so employed. 

The methods introduced by Wichem have been largely 
followed in other coimtries, especially that of grouping into 
" families." In our own land this is now the practice in quite 
a number of the newer juvenile reformatories. Unfortunately 
in most of them the number of children comprising a " fam- 
ily " is too large (20 to 50) ; and it is questionable whether 
in any of them due stress is laid upon Wichern's fundamental 
principle of individual care and oversight. Still more is it 
to be regretted that in this country we have hardly yet 
learned to estimate the importance of giving Christian men 
and women a special training for work of this kind. 

Children who have been inmates of a German rescue home, 
and who, if fitted for it, have been confirmed (usually at 
about fourteen), are thereafter, whenever possible, placed 
in good families, but the institution's interest in them does 
not cease. For boys and girls beyond tliis age who for some 
time still need correctional care, or who have never had it, a 
considerable number of special institutions, and special 
departments in existing institutions, have in recent years 
been provided. These are conducted in the same manner 
and spirit as the homes for younger children, but additional 
stress is laid on manual labor in field, garden, and shop. 



SAVING OF THE LOST 171 



b. Warfare Against Immorality: Magdalen Homes 

In the social evil sin is met in its most hideous and debasing 
form. Of all evils it is the most far reaching in its frightful 
consequences to the individual, the family, and society. 
It is the sin above every other whose ravages can be traced 
through generations, and whose unbridled gratification 
is one of the infalhble signs of national decay. "Careful 
observers beUeve it to be a more constant and fundamental 
cause of degeneration than intemperance. It certainly 
effects degeneration of a more or less pronounced type in a 
much larger number of persons. It persists almost to the 
end in the most degenerate stock, while at the same time it 
is operative among the healthier classes."^ "There was 
nothing which so ruined the ancient world as the domin- 
ion of fleshly lusts; and nothing would be so sure a sign of 
our own approaching destruction as their unrestrained 
indulgence."^ Prostitution is an evil that at any time may, 
and repeatedly does, reduce youth to premature, helpless 
old age; transforms the body into a rotten shell; affects 
not only the sinner, but his posterity; and makes the kiss 
of love the means of carrying contagion and foul disease 
to pure brides and innocent children.^ Against no other 
form of evil does Holy Writ, therefore, warn with more fre- 
quency and greater earnestness. Only twice has this species 
of vice to any considerable extent been arrested, namely, 
during the first centuries of the Christian Church and at 
the time of the Reformation, demonstrating conclusively 
that serious evils disappear only in proportion as the Gospel 
becomes a power in the social and national Ufe. 

Among the causes which lead to prostitution are to be 
mentioned, first, certain social and industrial conditions 
which facihtate the fall, such as overcrowded tenements 
and unattractive homes from which girls seek the street for 

> Warner: American Charities, p. 66. 

^Luthardt: The Moral Truths of Christianity, p. 121. 

*The Encyclopedia of Social Reform, ist ed., p. 981. 



172 FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 

fresh air and recreation; low wages and the ease with which 
improper intimacies are formed in store and factory, in 
counting-room and office; dance halls, and cheap theatres; 
erotic and obscene literature; ignorance regarding matters 
of sex; and the lack of some one to counsel, direct, and pro- 
tect. Nevertheless prostitution can never be regarded as a 
necessary product of social conditions. The chief factor in 
bringing it about is always personal, both on the side of the 
tempter and on the side of the tempted. While the former 
is driven by his lusts, the latter often has visions of more- 
money, fine clothes, and a good time, or may even yield 
herself only for pleasure's sake. ''The money returns fur- 
nish a very great temptation to girls to part with their virtue. 
Some fall because they cannot find work; some because they 
do not wish to work. Many a girl who is strong, and healthy, 
and comely, and lazy, learns that there is a market for such 
as she; that she can earn more money in a night by sin than 
she can in a week or a month by work, and she sells herself 
accordingly."^ But the income of the great majority soon 
begins to decrease, and in a few years they are reduced to 
utter want and wretchedness. Out of 2000 cases investi- 
gated to ascertain causes, 525 were attributed to desti- 
tution, 513 to inclination, 258 to seduction, and 181 to 
drink. 

Disclosures in recent years establish the fact that there is 
a systematic traffic in girls. According to a German author- 
ity London is the center of this traffic. "The London houses 
of ill-fame," he says, "maintain agents of both sexes in every 
country of Europe, who furnish them with fresh 'goods.' 
Numberless girls who are enticed to England as seamstresses, 
milliners, servants, governesses, etc., lose their maidenhood 
in London resorts of ill-fame."" Shocking revelations of 
this kind have also been made in our own land; and it is 
claimed that a very large number of prostitutes in the 

' Rev. F. M. GooDCHiLD, in The Arena, March, tSq6. 
2 Dr. Gaston Vorhkro: Frcihcit odcr ccsundhcitlkhc Ueherwachung der 
Geiverbsuiizucht, 1907, p. 43. 



SAVING OF THE LOST 1 73 

United States have been snared and trapped, bought and 
sold, among them thousands of immigrant girls/ In its 
presentment, June 29, 19 10, the Grand Jury charged with 
the investigation of the alleged existence of the ''white 
slave" traffic in New York, makes the statement that there 
are in the county of New York a considerable and increasing 
number of creatures who live wholly or in part upon the 
earnings of girls or women who practice prostitution. "With 
promises of marriage, of fine clothing, of greater personal 
independence, these men often induce girls to live with them, 
and after a brief period, with threats of exposure or of 
physical violence, force them to go upon the streets as common 
prostitutes and to turn over the proceeds of their shame to 
their seducers, who live largely, if not wholly, upon the 
money thus earned by their victims." 

Prostitutes are found mainly in the cities, but their male 
companions come from everywhere. Especially prevalent 
is this species of vice in the large cities of the world, where 
housing conditions are often the poorest, wages the lowest, 
and temptations the greatest. Paris is beheved to support 
100,000 prostitutes; Berlin, 40,000 to 50,000; London, a far 
greater number; and New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia, 
a total of 80,000 to 100,000. In 1906 Miss Kate R. O'Hara, a 
rescue mission worker of large experience, estimated the 
number of public prostitutes in the United States at 600,000, 
and "possibly as many more who sacrifice their chastity in 
connection with some other form of livelihood." Eveiy 
fallen woman is supposed to mean at least five fallen men; 
and it is maintained that in the large cities 90 per cent, of 
the men are guilty of sexual sin. Statistics furthermore 
show that in the country at large over 50 per cent, of all 
young men are infected with some form of venereal disease 
before they reach the age of thirty.^ As the average life of 
a professional prostitute is only about five years, it will be 

»See article on "The Girl that Disappears," by General Theodore A. 
Bingham, former Commissioner of Police for Greater New York, in Hamp- 
ton's Magazine, November, 19 10. 

2 Dr. Robert N.Willson: The American Boy and the Social Evil, p. 105. 



174 FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 

seen how large an army of fresh victims must constantly be 
recruited to take the place of those that die. 

In view of the wide extent of this evil and of its awful 
train of wrecked families, diseased bodies, and lost souls, we 
may well ask: What can be done to check or overcome it? 
Method after method has been tried in Europe and America 
— registration, segregation, licensing — and all have signally 
failed. Nor dare the State compromise with sin. When 
God says: "Thou shalt not," the State cannot say: "Thou 
mayest," without itself becoming a partner of sin and incur- 
ring the gravest guilt. 

The "Committee of Fifteen," New York City, 1902, 
declared in its report that a system of vice regulation as 
practiced in most of the cities of continental Europe was no 
radical or adequate remedy for the evil even in its physical 
aspects, and made the following recommendations: "The 
better housing of the poor, purer forms of amusement, the 
raising of the conditions of labor — especially of female labor 
— better moral education, minors more and more withdrawn 
from the clutches of vice by means of reformatories, the 
evil itself unceasingly condemned by public opinion as a sin 
against morality and punished as a crime, with stringent 
penalties whenever it takes the form of a public nuisance." 

Furthermore, there should be an equal standard of sexual 
morality for both sexes; age of consent laws should protect 
a girl's virtue until she is of age as completely as the law 
protects her property ; and parents should at the proper time 
instruct their children regarding the use and destiny of the 
body (i Cor. 6 : 15-20). The writer^ already quoted again 
says: "Ignorant innocence leads most girls astray. A prudish 
silence lands many a girl in the brothel, and provides cus- 
tomers for her as well. It ought to be possible to impart to 
our children some instruction about these most important 
relations of life without mantling the cheeks of parents or 
child with a blush. It is little short of criminal to send our 
young people into the midst of the excitement and tempta- 

» Rev. F. M. GOODCHILD. 



SAVING OF THE LOST 175 

tions of a great city with no more preparation than if they 
were going to live in Paradise." 

And what a responsibility regarding this whole subject 
rests upon the ministry! Surely in the face of so great an 
evil it cannot be silent. It must set forth the divine law 
against sexual uncleanness as fully and forcibly as any other 
part of the decalogue. It must warn the old and the young, the 
married and the smgle against its awful consequences in 
time and in eternity. It must point out how the wrath of God 
pursues its votaries with unerring certainty. And it must 
plead for purity in word and deed as a prime necessity for 
physical and spiritual well-being, and for the preservation 
of the family, of society, and of the State. Uncleanness of 
this kind is a sin, and must be dealt with as sin. Hence not 
human enactments and police regulations must be relied 
upon to eradicate it, but that Word of divine truth which is 
alone able to change hearts and lives. The former may serve 
to keep the evil in check, but never to cure it. 

In England, on the Continent, and in the United States 
various societies are engaged in the work of promoting 
social purity among men and women alike. The White 
Cross Society, organized in England in 1884 by Bishop 
Lightfoot, pursues the same object with boys and young 
men from 13 to 19 years of age. In Germany, Wichern already 
called attention to the great need of waging a determined 
battle against public immorality, but not until 1885 was the 
first society founded for this purpose. Since then numerous 
similar societies have come into existence in the different 
provinces. The majority of these are now united in a general 
conference for aggressive work along many lines. In 1889 
a branch of the White Cross Society was organized in Ber- 
lin under the auspices of Dr. Braun, General Superintendent; 
and only ten years later no less than 179 such branches 
could be counted in Germany, with a membership of about 
20,000. 

Among the means which the Inner Mission employs for 
the rescue of fallen women are the so-called Magdalen 



176 FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 

homes. The first of these was established by FUedner at 
Kaisers werth, and had its modest beginning in 1833 (see p. 
70). But it was the Dutch Pastor Heldring who first 
awakened a general interest in this cause, and who, in 1848, 
opened an asylum for fallen women at Steenbeck, Hol- 
land, which became a model for many others of the same 
kind. 

It was a fundamental principle with Heldring that such 
an institution must be neither a prison nor a cloister, but a 
place to which unfortunates will come of their own choice,' 
and in which they are never detained against their will. 
It must always be located in or near the town or city where 
the evil is foimd. It is brought to the notice of those whom 
it seeks to benefit through printed appeals, midnight missions, 
prison chaplains, city missionaries, parish deaconesses, and es- 
pecially through deaconesses engaged in the venereal wards of 
hospitals. For the inmates of a Magdalen home an abundance 
of work is provided in laundry, kitchen, field, garden, etc. ; 
in small homes all live together as a family, usually under the 
watchful eye and loving care of a deaconess; in larger homes 
the method of grouping into ' 'families" of ten or twelve is 
observed, each "family" having its own "mother"; at night 
all occupy one room, but so arranged that each one has her 
own compartment, and all are under the oversight of the 
sister or attendant who sleeps with them; whilst at all times 
the greatest care is taken that one is not unfavorably influ- 
enced by the other. 

The religious life of a German Magdalen home is that of 
the Christian family. The pastor at its head must be a man 
of more than ordinary pastoral efficiency, who, in all his 
ministrations, must know how to divide the Word of truth 
most profitably; and the housemother must be a woman of 
large heart, child-like piety, sound judgment, fine tact, and 
infinite patience. For her rehabilitation the unfortunate one 
should reside at least two years in the home, after which the 
home seeks a situation for her amid favorable surroundings, 
and keeps in close touch with her. 



SAVING OF THE LOST 177 

Results in this most difficult kind of rescue work are, as a 
rule, not very encouraging. It is claimed that only about 
one-third are permanently saved. Nevertheless the winning 
back to right life of but one girl or woman is already a great 
gain, not only in view of the Lord's declaration regarding 
the value of a single soul (Matt. 16 : 26; Luke 15 : 7, 10), but 
also because thereby at least one more source of moral and 
physical infection is removed. 

The work of the Magdalen homes is supplemented by that 
of the so-called Versorgungsh'duser, or shelters, begun by Miss 
B. Lungstras, in Bonn, September 15th, 1873. The purpose 
of these houses is to provide a retreat for girls who have been 
betrayed, give them and their illegitimate offspring the 
necessary care and protection, and thus to prevent, if possible, 
their still deeper fall. After a time a suitable place is found 
for the mother (usually as a domestic) ; and, to serve as a 
bond of fellowship with the house, the child is retained until 
its third year. Including the Frauenheime (p. 219) there were, 
at the beginning of 1910, 67 Inner Mission institutions in 
Germany devoted to the saving and care of fallen v/omen and 
the protection of imperiled girls. With very few exceptions 
these are conducted by pastors and deaconesses. The 
number of homes engaged in similar work in the United 
States — Protestant and Catholic — is said to be over 200. 

c. Warfare Against Intemperance : Asylums for 
Inebriates 

Closely alUed to the social evil, both as a cause and as an 
effect, is the drink evil. Like the social evil, this is also a 
most prolific cause of degeneracy. It impairs the bodily 
and mental faculties, leads to congenital idiocy, brings 
wretchedness into the home, disrupts families, induces 
pauperism, fills prisons, reformatories and workhouses, 
shortens life, and sends the drinker to everlasting perdition. 
Like the unclean person the drunkard shall not inherit the 
kingdom of God (i Cor. 6 : 9, 10). 



178 FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 

How to deal with this evil has long engaged the thought 
and effort of men and women in many lands. Some have 
sought a solution in legislation. Prohibition, local option, 
high license, and other expedients have been tried, but with 
only partial success. These may help to remove the tempta- 
tion, and, when supported by an almost unanimous public 
sentiment, may reduce the traf&c almost to the vanishing 
point. Nevertheless the fact remains that character and 
morals cannot be changed by law. The appetite for drink 
laughs at laws, and finds ways to evade even the most 
stringent. 

Another method of combating the evil is attempted through 
the educational and restraining influence of societies formed 
for this purpose. This movement dates from the beginning 
of the last century and originated in the United States. 
In 1808 the first modern temperance society was organized 
in Saratoga County, New York, but had only a brief exist- 
ence. This was followed in 18 13 by the Massachusetts 
Temperance Society, and in 1826 by the American Society 
for the Promotion of Temperance (Boston), now known as 
the National Temperance and Publication Society, with 
headquarters in New York City. More recent are the Sons of 
Temperance (1842), the Independent Order of Good Tem- 
plars (1852), and the Woman's Christian Temperance Union 
(1874). From this country the movement spread to Great 
Britain and the Continent. 

These and similar societies, in this and other lands, have 
undoubtedly accomplished much good. They have laid 
bare the evil of intemperance in all its features. They have 
educated public opinion and awakened a healthier public 
sentiment. They have taught people to regard excessive 
drinking as disreputable, and even the best conducted saloon 
as more or less of a nuisance in a neighborhood. They have 
saved many from becoming drunkards and others who were. 
They have brought about much restrictive legislation, and 
have in many places, through their educational propaganda, 
succeeded in eliminating the tralhc almost entirely. ''With 



SAVING OF THE LOST 1 79 

the exception of the Church Temperance Society of the 
Protestant Episcopal Church, which has the 'double basis,' 
all the temperance societies of the United States are based 
on the doctrine of total abstinence, and with the exception of 
the Father Mathew Total Abstinence Societies of the 
Roman CathoHc Church, they all advocate the principle of 
prohibition."^ 

The radical advocates of temperance reform have, however, 
also been guilty of much bad exegesis and fanaticism. As 
early as 1833 the first national temperance convention, 
altogether regardless of the New Testament (John 2 : i-ii; 
Matt. II : 18, 19; Luke 7 : 33, 34; i Tim. 4 : 4, 5), resolved 
that the use of ardent spirits as a beverage and their sale 
was morally wrong. To make this theory fit in with certain 
passages of the Old and Nev/ Testament, some of which com- 
mend wine while others warn against it, the further untenable 
theory was propounded that in the olden time there were two 
kinds of wine, unfermented and fermented, and that it was 
only the use of the former that the Scriptures tolerated. 
Thus it came about that many churches began to use only 
so-called unfermented wine — some even water — in the ad- 
ministration of the Communion. 

This same fanatical spirit would also bring about total 
abstinence by means of universal prohibition, legally enforced. 
It fails to grasp the New Testament principle that '' intem- 
perance never lies in the use of any creature of God, whether 
meat or wine or marriage; but in its abuse, either by excess 
injuring soul and body, or by offense given the weak (i Cor. 
8 : 8-13; Rom. 14 : 20, 21). The determination of these 
limitations cannot be fixed by any universal law, but must be 
decided in individual cases, and by the individual Christian 
conscience, as they arise. The greatest care must be taken 
not to declare that to be sin which God has not for- 
bidden, and that not to be sin which God has forbidden. 
Total abstinence has its justification only in so far as it is a 
voluntary surrender by the Christian of a right which he 

' EncydopcBdia Britannica: Art. Temperance Societies. 



l8o FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 

acknowledges to belong to him, while it refrains from making 
its decisions of the claims of Christian expediency determining 
one's own conduct a standard to be enforced upon others. 
Temperance legislation, so-called, suggests, however, other 
questions. Legislation often justly restricts the use of what 
is per se sinless, because of serious abuses from which society 
suffers. Water is free and a good gift of God, but such evils 
may threaten the community by its waste that legislation 
restricting its use may be absolutely necessary." ^ 

The American Good Templar order was introduced into 
England in 1868, into the Scandinavian countries in 1877-80, 
and into Germany in 1883-89. Wherever it is found it is 
organized into lodges after the manner of secret societies, 
with ritual, passwords, grips, regalia, etc. It exacts not 
merely a pledge, but the equivalent of an oath from those who 
join that they will never make, buy, sell, use, furnish, nor 
cause to be furnished to others, as a beverage, any spirituous 
or malt liquors, wine or cider, and will discountenance the 
manufacture and sale thereof in all proper ways. Into its 
juvenile temples it receives children from 6 to 16 years of age, 
whom it pledges in practically the same manner to total 
abstinence for life from all intoxicating drinks, tobacco, 
gambling, and vulgar language. But such unevangelical 
methods commend neither this nor any similar organization 
to those who see in intemperance a work of the flesh which 
can be effectually overcome, not by pledges and laws, and 
other man-made expedients, but only by the grace of God. 

The temperance organization in Germany which most 
fully represents Inner Mission principles is the Blue Cross 
Society founded by the Swiss Pastor Rochat in 1877, and 
introduced into Germany in 1883. This rests altogether 
on a Scriptural basis and pursues Scriptural methods. It 
does not regard the drinking of a glass of wine or beer by 
those who understand the right use of all things as a sin, 
but advocates strict abstinence, self-imposed and voluntary, 
for those to whom this would be a temptation to excess, and 

» Jacobs: LutJicran Cyclopedia, p. 508. 



SAVING OF THE LOST l8l 

for all who have already been enslaved by drink but wish to 
be freed. It believes that even the most moderate indulgence 
in distilled liquors is prejudicial to health and, therefore, 
warns against it. It asks those who engage in the work of 
reforming others to be total abstainers for love's sake and to 
set a good example (Rom. 14 : 20, 21; i Cor. chap. 8). But 
in no case does it look for substantial and lasting results 
apart from the Gospel. Those whom it would protect or save 
must first learn to see that intemperance is a sin, whose 
chains cannot be broken by self, but only as power is sought 
from above; and those who labor with the intemperate 
must derive their inspiration and strength from the same 
source. In a word, the Blue Cross Society begins within, and 
by seeking to bring the heart to God would change the life. 

An association numbering among its founders some of 
the most eminent divines, physicians, jurists, government 
officials, political economists, and business men in Germany 
is the Society Against the Abuse of Spirituous Liquors ( Verein 
gegen Misshrauch geistiger Getr'dnke), organized March 29, 
1883. The primary purpose of this society is social rather 
than individual reform. This it seeks to bring about by the 
wide dissemination of information regarding the drink evil 
in all its aspects; and by endeavoring to secure such legisla- 
tion and police regulations as will at least put a check upon 
it as far as possible. 

In the Scandinavian countries the so-called Gothenburg 
system has yielded remarkable results. Under this system 
*'the authorities of each town, city, or district are legalized 
to grant all licenses for the sale of alcoholic drinks to a 
company consisting of persons who engage in the undertak- 
ing, not for the sake of profit, but solely for the good of the 
working classes, and who do not derive the slightest profit 
from the concern beyond the ordinary rate of interest on 
capital invested. The premises of the company on or in 
which the hquors are sold must be in full view of the public; 
must be clean, light, and roomy, and at the same time serve 
as eating houses for the working classes; and no Hquors can 



l82 FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 

be sold on credit or pawn tickets, on Sundays or holidays, or 
after 6 p. m. in the evening of the days preceding these." 
This system, together with years of persistent temperance agi- 
tation, has resulted in a vast reduction in the number of 
places where liquor is sold, has diminished to a correspond- 
ing extent the consumption of spirits and drunkenness, has 
decreased the death-rate from chronic alcoholism to a fraction 
of what it was before, and greatly increased the amount of 
money in savings banks. 

Victims of alcohol who can no longer control themselves 
or be controlled belong in an asylum for the cure of inebri- 
acy. A properly conducted institution of this kind is, 
however, not a quack establishment that regards chronic 
alcoholism as a disease, and seeks to cure it by purely medical 
means. Intemperance in drink is not a disease which a 
person inherits or contracts against his will, but it is an 
acquired habit, a sin, involving moral responsibility, and that 
must in the last analysis be dealt with as sin. True, the 
drinker has so abused his body, deranged its functions, and 
weakened its powers that he needs first of all to be built 
up again physically. And this is the first thing that the asylum 
seeks to do for him. It deprives him at once of liquor, sup- 
plies him with the most nourishing diet, subjects him to a 
well-regulated system of exercise and out-door labor, and pos- 
sibly administers a few simple remedies to aid his nervous 
system in regaining its equilibrium. Soon, however, he is 
made to feel those ethical and religious influences which can- 
not be separated from a home in which all dwell together 
as a Christian family, where God's Word and the language 
of prayer are heard, and where one is taught to see, if pos- 
sible, that he can hope to be permanently cured only through 
Him who has made atonement for sin, and who says: "With- 
out Me ye can do nothing." 

The first inebriate asylum in the world was opened in 
185 1 at Lintorf, near Diisseldorf, on the Rhine, by Candidate 
Dietrich, of the Duisburger Diak^ncnhaiis. According to 
Schneider's Jahrbuch of 1909 there arc now upwards of fifty 



SAVING OF THE LOST 1 83 

such institutions in Germany, six of them Roman CathoHc, 
and most of the remainder under Inner Mission auspices. 

A similar institution (and, so far as the writer knows, the 
only one of the kind in the United States) is the Franklin 
Home, Nos. 911-15 Locust Street, Philadelphia, begun in 
1872. Its methods are essentially those of the Inner Mission 
asylums. We read in one of its publications: " The inebriate 
who enters the Franklin Home is treated as an invalid, as 
well as a sinner, the attempt being first to restore his normal 
mental and physical condition, and then to arouse his con- 
science to a realization of his moral and rehgious duties and 
responsibilities." The words of Paul, "By the grace of 
God I am what I am," emblazoned on a banner in the chapel, 
indicate on what the institution places its chief reliance in 
dealing with inebriates; nor has its confidence been mis- 
placed. Without cant, without excitement, without sen- 
sationalism, but with confidence in the quiet power of that 
Word which maketh wise unto salvation, the Home has 
brought about the permanent reformation of fully 40 per 
cent, of the 8000 men who have entered it since it was 
opened. Moreover, this HomxC does not seek to make money 
out of its inmates like numerous " institutes " that treat 
inebriacy as a "disease," with quack remedies, for so much a 
week. Almost half of its work is purely charitable. 

In the United States farm colonies, under State control, are 
being established here and there, to which habitual inebri- 
ates, who cannot be controlled in any other way, are com- 
mitted by legal process. 

d. Care of Convicts and Discharged Prisoners 

Perhaps no department of present day philanthropic work 
is so much indebted to Christianity for its inspiration and 
achievements as the work for and among prisoners. In the 
ranks of modern Christians there are four whose names 
will ever continue to be associated with the great move- 
ment towards prison reform, namely, John Howard and 



184 FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 

Elizabeth Fry in England, and Fliedner and Wichern in 
Germany. 

Prior to the last century the barbarities and cruelties inflicted 
on prisoners form one of the darkest chapters in histor>\ 
Men and women were incarcerated on the slightest pretext, 
often on the merest suspicion. They were locked up for 
debt, and put out of the way for political and religious reasons. 
In England prison officers were not paid salaries, but were 
dependent for their livelihood on fees which they extracted 
from the prisoners. Until these fees were paid even those 
were detained against whom juries found no evidence of 
guilt, or whose prosecutors had not appeared. Over two 
hundred offenses, many of them comparatively trivial, were 
punishable with death; and not until 1861 did England 
abolish the death penalty for all offenses excepting murder 
and treason. Deplorable conditions, moreover, existed in 
the prisons themselves, not only in England, but in other 
lands as well. In his tour of inspection, begun in 1773, 
Howard found that "they were for the most part pestiferous 
dens, densely overcrowded, dark, foully dirty, not only 
ill ventilated, but deprived altogether of fresh air. The 
wretched inmates were thrown into subterranean dungeons, 
into wet and noisome caverns and hideous holes to rot and 
fester, a prey to fell disease bred and propagated in the 
prison house, and deprived of the commonest necessaries of 
life. For food they were dependent upon the caprice of 
their jailers or the charity of the benevolent; water was 
denied them except in the scantiest proportions. They were 
half naked or in rags: their only bedding was putrid straw 
reeking with exhalations and accumulated filth. Every one 
in durance, whether tried or untried, was heavily ironed; 
women did not escape the infliction. All alike were subject 
to the rapacity of their jailers and the extortions of their 
fellows. Jail fees were levied ruthlessly — 'garnish' also, the 
tax or contribution paid by each individual to a common 
fund to be spent by the whole body, generally in drink. 
Drunkenness was universal and quite unchecked; gambling 



SAVING OF THE LOST 1 85 

of all grades was practiced; vice and obscenity were every- 
where in the ascendant. Idleness, drunkenness, vicious 
intercourse, sickness, starvation, squalor, cruelty, chains, 
awful oppression, and everywhere culpable neglect — in 
these Yvords may be summed up the state of the jails at the 
time of Howard's visitation."^ 

The revelations made by Howard and his persistent 
agitation of the subject led to the Act of 1799, which laid the 
foundation of the modern penitentiary and reformatory 
system. The object in view was thus stated: ''It was hoped, 
by sobriety, cleanliness, and medical assistance, by a regular 
series of labor, by solitary confinement during the intervals 
of work, and by due religious instruction, to preserve and 
amend the health of the unhappy offenders, to inure them to 
habits of industry, to guard them from pernicious company, 
to accustom them to serious reflection, and to teach them 
both the principles and practice of every Christian and moral 
duty."" Under this act, after many delays, the great peni- 
tentiary at Millbank was built and opened in 1816, but, 
with few exceptions, the common prisons throughout the 
United Kingdom remained deplorably bad in spite of con- 
siderable progressive legislation for the amelioration of 
prisoners. This led to the formation in 181 7 of the first 
EngHsh prison society for the improvement of prison dis- 
cipline, of which Elizabeth Fry was the moving spirit. The 
results achieved by this organization, largely through the 
personal efforts of Mrs. Fry herself, almost at once attracted 
general attention, and as a consequence other similar 
societies were soon formed in England and on the Continent. 

The first prison society in the world was, however, organ- 
ized in America, in the city of Philadelphia, February 2, 
1776, only two years after Howard made his first report. 
Interrupted in its work by the war, it was reorganized May 
8, 1787, as the Philadelphia Society for Alleviating the Mis- 
eries of Pubhc Prisons, but is now known as the Pennsyl- 

i'Encyclopadia Britannica. Vol. xix, Art. Prison Discipline. 
ilhid. 



1 86 FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 

vania Prison Society. Over one hundred prominent citizens 
of Philadelphia — among them Benjamin Rush and Benjamin 
Franklin — signed its original constitution. In its member- 
ship the Society of Friends has always been largely represented. 
Its first president was Bishop White of the Protestant 
Episcopal Church, and the Rev. Dr. Helmuth of the Lutheran 
Church was one of its first two vice-presidents. For a century 
and a quarter it has continued its beneficent work. Before 
the close of the eighteenth century and twenty years before 
Elizabeth Fry exposed the horrors of Newgate in London 
it had already secured much remedial legislation. Since 
then its efforts in behalf of the physical and moral well- 
being of prisoners have never been relaxed. Its ofl&cial rep- 
resentatives are regular visitors in the penal institutions 
of Philadelphia and vicinity and in other parts of the State; 
by means of visits and correspondence the general secretary 
keeps the society informed of conditions in the coimty jails 
throughout the State; and in 1909 it was one of the prime 
movers in securing the enactment of the law providing for 
adult probation, the indeterminate sentence, and parole. 

The example set by Pennsylvania was followed in other 
States, and all the societies that have since been formed have 
actively promoted legislative enactments and brought about 
many reforms. Besides, Pennsylvania, IMassachussetts, 
New York, Ohio, Indiana, and Minnesota are especially 
conspicuous for the advances they have made in the admin- 
istration of their penitentiaries and reformatories. Unfor- 
tunately, in nearly all the States the county jails show the 
least progress. 

Within the last forty years scientific penology has been 
greatly advanced in the United States by the National, 
now the American Prison Association, formed in 1S70; and 
throughout the world by the International Prison Congress, 
which held its first meeting in 1872, and assembles every 
five years. 

In Germany it was Flicdncr who first became actively 
interested in prisons and prison reform. He had learned to 



SAVING OF THE LOST 1 87 

know the horrors of prison Hfe in his visits to the convicts 
at Diisseldorf, had been impressed by the beneficent work 
of Elizabeth Fry in England, and, with this before his mind, 
organized the Rhenish- Westphahan Prison Society in 1826 
for similar work in Germany. This society, the first of the kind 
on the Continent, had for its specific purpose the appointment 
of prison chaplains and teachers, the establishment of libraries 
and the distribution of good literature in prisons, and the 
care of discharged prisoners. Through its influence many 
needed reforms were brought about; and, like the several 
other general societies that have since been formed, it has 
numerous local branches for the care of prisoners whose 
terms have expired. Of such branches, representing all the 
general societies, there are to-day about 430. 

Wichern strongly advocated prison reform in his Denk- 
schrift and in other papers and addresses. Not merely im- 
proved buildings, nor a particular system of discipline, were 
in his mind the chief factors in seeking to bring about the 
rehabilitation of the prisoner, but an improved administra- 
tive personnel. With him persons counted more than things, 
and according to his way of thinking character could only 
be formed again by contact with character. Hence, we hear 
him say: " One of the first duties of the Inner Mission is to 
look after the imprisoned not only through the printed Word, 
but in the living person, who, quickened and strengthened 
by that Word and in the spirit of love and wisdom through 
earnest work and loving deed can approach these erring 
brethren in the flesh." ^ It was a part of his program to 
furnish brothers from the Rauhe Haus for such service, and, 
warmly supported by King Frederick William IV, he suc- 
ceeded in 1856 in placing thirty-seven as overseers in the 
Moabit prison at Berlin. His appointment in 1857 to a posi- 
tion in the Department of the Interior, and as a member of 
the High Consistory, led him to hope that he would ulti- 
mately be permitted to render a like service to other prisons; 
and, with this in view, he estabhshed the Johannesstift in 

1 Gesamnielte Schriften. Vol. iii, p. 297. 



1 88 FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 

Berlin, in which men were to be trained specially for work in 
prisons and city missions. But by degrees he encountered 
much opposition, and his hopes v/ere not realized. 

For persons convicted of State prison offences two systems 
of imprisonment are in vogue — the separate (only one prisoner 
to a cell, day and night) and the congregate (separate cellu- 
lar confinement at night, congregate work during the day). 
The former originated with the Eastern State Penitentiary 
in Philadelphia, and is known throughout the world as the 
*' Pennsylvania System." This system, which at first met 
with much favor, has been abandoned in all other convict 
prisons in the United States, and largely in other countries. 
Even at Philadelphia it is no longer enforced. The congre- 
gate system was first introduced in the State prison at Auburn, 
N. Y. (hence also called the " Auburn System "), and is 
to-day, with various modifications, the prevailing system in 
the penitentiaries of the United States. For prisoners await- 
ing trial, and for short term prisoners, the separate system is, 
however, almost universally considered desirable; but, as in 
many county prisons this is not enforced, and prisoners of 
every grade and age are often permitted to commingle in- 
discriminately, these institutions are not infrequently and 
justly denominated " schools of vice." 

Penal institutions should be so located and constructed 
as to safeguard the health of their inmates. The State 
itself commits a crime if it incarcerates a person in a place so 
unsanitary that it wrecks his physical health. Besides 
sanitary buildings, nourishing food in sufficient quantity and 
well prepared should be furnished, and provision be made for 
abundant physical exercise. But the prison reformer of 
to-day looks far beyond the merely physical and material. 
He seeks the reformation of the criminal. He would, if 
possible, return him to society so improved in his moral 
nature as to make him a law-abiding citizen. Hence, he 
asks that the prisoner be given such opportunities and have 
such influences brought to bear upon him as will tend to 
cure him of his criminal propensities; or, in other words, he 



SAVING OF THE LOST 189 

would have the place of incarceration regarded and conducted 
rather as a hospital for the recovery of moral well-being than 
as a place of vindictive punishment. 

Among the means to this end are industries which provide 
steady employment and prevent the certain demoralization 
which results from a long period of enforced idleness; prison 
schools; well-selected libraries and periodicals; the cultiva- 
tion of vocal and instrumental music; a wisely administered 
grading and parole system; and, above all, such a presenta- 
tion of divine truth and such individual pastoral care on the 
part of the chaplain as will lead to genuine repentance. 
But the success of the best devised reformatory means will 
be jeopardized if wardens, superintendents, and overseers are 
not themselves animated by Christian principles and a sincere 
purpose by all that they say and do to benefit their charges. 
A system of special training as advocated by Wichern would, 
therefore, serve a most useful purpose. All the means above 
indicated can and should be employed in State prisons and 
reformatories, and as many of them as can find application in 
county prisons. 

A new departure that has in recent years received wide 
recognition in the United States and yielded excellent results 
is the one under which an indeterminate sentence is passed 
upon the person adjudged guilty, between the minimum and 
maximum of which he may be paroled into the care of a parole 
officer, who will act as his first friend and adviser. If by 
industry and good habits the paroled person approves him- 
self, he is finally discharged on the expiration of the maximum, 
sometimes sooner; if he violates the terms of his parole he is 
remanded back to prison to serve the full penalty provided 
by law. 

The most critical time in the life of a convict is the day and 
hour of his release from prison. If he has been long in con- 
finement he is more or less out of touch with the world's 
life and activities, and at first hardly fitted physically or 
otherwise again to undertake life's duties. If he is known as 
an ex-convict the pubUc and the police are against him, and 



IQO FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 

he finds it difficult to get and retain employment. The sum 
of money given him on his discharge — usually much too 
small — is soon exhausted; and, unless he had some to his 
credit for working overtime in prison, or has a home to which 
he can go, where shall he find bread and where lay his head? 
What wonder that many who come out with good resolu- 
tions again lapse into evil ways! It is to take such by the 
hand, relieve their immediate needs, find work for them, and 
by friendly counsel and watchful care to put them on their 
feet again, that prisoners' aid societies and homes for dis- 
charged prisoners have come into being. In Germany, as 
has already been mentioned, there is a complete network 
of such associations, and in this country a number of societies 
and homes devote themselves to work of this kind. Fre- 
quently it is also found necessary to render a measure of 
assistance to families whose bread winner is in prison. 

But in spite of all that Christian love may do there are 
always some who are not amenable to it. They will again 
begin their depredations on society almost as soon as dis- 
charged; and it is not unusual for prison workers to find those 
in State prisons who had served several sentences before, and 
are likely to come back again. From such society must 
protect itself as it does from lepers and the dangerously 
insane, namely, by permanent segregation. This is the 
method now followed in several States of our own land. 

For dealing with juvenile offenders the Juvenile Court has 
come into vogue in the United States. Under this system 
a delinquent child, pending an examination, is usually not 
taken to a lock-up, station house, or prison, but to a house of 
detention, where it is not brought into contact with hardened 
criminals. Its case is heard in a special court, having its own 
judge, and, as a rule, only before persons whose presence is 
deemed necessary. A probation officer assists the court in 
obtaining information regarding the child's family, bringing- 
up, associations, etc. The child may be dismissed with an 
admonition from the judge, which in many cases is all that is 
needed; or it may be committed to the care of the probation 



SAVING OF THE LOST tQI 

officer, to be watched over, guided, and reported, without 
being sent to a reform school. If this does not prove effective, 
the delinquent may be placed in a country home, but still 
under the supervision of the probation officer; and only when 
this does not answer is it sent to an industrial or reform school, 
and, last of all, to the reformatory. 

This same principle is in a number of States also applied 
to adult first offenders whose previous record has been good, 
and who are not charged with any of the more serious crimes. 
Known as " adult probation," it is a substitute for imprison- 
ment. Massachusetts was the first to introduce it, and after 
an experience of more than twenty years has become its 
stanchest advocate. " The advantages of probation over 
imprisonment are many. A very large proportion of those 
who are convicted for the first time are not criminal in char- 
acter, but have committed their offenses under exceptional 
circumstances. If imprisoned with habitual offenders they 
are likely to return worse than when they were sent away. 
They are also saved from the prison stigma, which makes it 
difficult for a discharged convict to obtain employment. 
The family shares the stigma and the disgrace when one if its 
members is imprisoned. Probation saves from this. If 
the convict is the head of the family, and is the wage-earner, 
imprisonment deprives the family of support and fosters 
pauperism. If placed on probation he continues to support 
his family. When imprisonment ends, restraint ends. It 
is needed when the prisoner is free. Probation furnishes re- 
straint to the free man, and reinforces all his good purposes. 
It controls his companionships, keeps him out of the saloon, 
and inspires a wholesome fear of the consequences of wrong- 
doing, as he may be surrendered and sentenced for any cause. 

" The results have justified the adoption of the method. 
A large proportion of the probationers do well during the 
probationary period. The courts that have made the largest 
use of it and have seen most of its results are heartiest in its 
support." ^ 

» Bulletin No. 19. Massachusetts Prison Association. 



192 FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 

VI. The Care of the Sick and the Defective 

Just as Jesus went about and, in connection with the 
preaching of the Gospel, healed all manner of sickness and 
disease among the people (Matt. 4 : 23 e^ al.) ; as He helped 
the blind and lame, the deaf and dumb, the leprous and 
palsied, and those possessed of evil spirits, so the Inner 
Mission regards it as one of its chief duties to serve the sick 
and defective to the utmost of its ability. Its purpose in 
doing so is not only to relieve suffering, but to glorify the 
Master by demonstrating through its own acts of love that 
His love is still operative in the world. It would thus in 
effect say to those to whom it ministers: " I beseech you 
... by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a 
living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your 
reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world; 
but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye 
may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will 
of God " (Rom. 12:1, 2). 

a. Hospital Care of the Sick 

The hospital system of caring for the sick is the direct 
product of Christian charity. Among the heathen of pre- 
Christian times the care of the sick devolved upon the 
slaves of the household; and where there were no slaves 
the sick were obliged to care for themselves as best they 
could. The life of a citizen was considered valuable only 
so long as he could contribute to the welfare of the State; 
and when he was no longer able to do this, he could be 
abandoned without scruple. That human life was in itself 
sacred, and that those in health owed any special duties 
to the sick, was a thought utterly foreign to the heathen 
mind. This continued to be the case until Christianity 
triumphed over heathenism. In the meantime the Chris- 
tians, in sharp contrast with the ])rutal practice of the 
heathen, gave the sick, and especially those of their own 




s 



CARE OF THE SICK AND THE DEFECTIVE 1 93 

number, the most loving attention; and when Christianity 
finally became the dominant religion, it also added the care 
of the neglected sick in general to its other forms of benevo- 
lent activity by estabUshing hospitals for this purpose. 
Chief among these was that of Basil the Great at Caesarea in 
Cappadocia, founded in A. D. 369. This hospital, which 
might more properly be called a colony of mercy for the sick 
and needy of every kind, consisted of numerous buildings 
patterned after a private house. This style of arrange- 
ment continued to the Middle Ages, when the large pal- 
aces of the rich and noble, in quadrangular form, having 
a court in the center, began to be followed as the pattern, 
and the care of the sick also passed into the hands of the 
different orders, brotherhoods, and sisterhoods. After the 
Reformation this work, in Protestant lands, fell into the 
hands of the civil authorities, and of men and women who 
often had little or none of the spirit of the great Healer 
in their hearts. It is not surprising, therefore, that for two 
centuries and more the management of many institutions 
for the sick was marked by much neglect and inhumanity. 
It remained for Fliedner and others, aided by the restored 
female diaconate, to re-establish this work on a thoroughly 
Christian basis. To the great improvements in hospital 
construction and equipment, and the vast progress made in 
medical and surgical science, have now also been added vastly 
improved methods of management, nursing, etc., all of them 
the conscious or unconscious outgrowth of Christian charity. 
In 1910 the 84 motherhouses comprised in the Kaiserswerth 
Union had 7286 deaconesses stationed in 11 15 hospitals; and 
even those hospitals in which only so-called trained nurses are 
employed have come imder the influence of the great upward 
movement set in motion by Theodor Fliedner. For did 
not Florence Nightingale (18 20-1 9 10), the " mother " of 
the trained nurse system, get her chief inspiration and the 
bulk of her training among the deaconesses at Kaiserswerth? ^ 

* In the years 1850-51 Miss Nightingale spent four months in the Kaisers- 
werth Deaconess House. There, according to FHedner himself, she labored 



194 FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 

The Roman Catholic Church has never ceased to be active 
in hospital work, and its institutions for the care of the sick 
continue to be among the best. 

While it is true that the larger number of hospitals are not 
church hospitals, it can hardly be said that they are entirely 
independent of religious influence and control. There are 
few indeed in which clergymen are not always welcome to 
minister to the spiritual needs of patients; whilst church 
hospitals, as a rule, have their regular chaplains. But 
besides this, much depends on the atmosphere created by 
those in direct charge. A patient needs more than fine 
material surroundings, skilful treatment, and scientific 
nursing. To all this the nurse, whether deaconess or not, 
must, above everything else, add the loving sympathy of a 
Christian heart, and by word and example demonstrate 
to the one in her charge that she has a living interest both 
in his physical and in his spiritual well-being. It was thus 
that the Master dealt with the sick and infirm, and the more 
closely a hospital follows His practice the more Christian 
and helpful it will become. 

b. Institutions for Physical and Mental Defectives 

Under this general head are included the institutions for 
the deaf and dumb, the blind, the crippled, the epileptic 
and the feeble-minded, idiotic and insane, in the conduct of 

among the sick "with a modesty, humility, self-denial, tact, and devotion such 
as only the Spirit of God can produce, and at the same time gave evidence of 
such accurate Christian knowledge, and such a sound faith as to demonstrate 
in the highest degree that she was absolutely uninfluenced by anything 
like Romish and Puscyite work-righteousness." She first won general recog- 
nition for her extraordinary labors in reforming the sanitary condition of the 
British army during the Crimean War. On her return to England a testi- 
monial fund of $250,000 was subscribed, which she accepted onl}' on condition 
that she might devote it to benevolence. Her first thought was to establish 
and personally conduct a deaconess hou.se of the Kaiserswerth type: but the 
hardshijis endured in the army had already .so .seriously alTected her health 
that she feared to undertake a work which in its details required .so much exact- 
ing labor. She therefore used the fund at her disposal to establish and main- 
tain a training-school for nurses (1S60) in connection with the St. Thomas 
Hospital, London, and an institution for the instruction of midwives at Kings 
College Hosi)ital. 



CARE OF THE SICK AND THE DEFECTIVE 1 95 

which organs of the Church or the Inner Mission participate 
to a greater or less extent. In all these the highest peda- 
gogical and medical skill should go hand in hand, so as to 
bring about the largest measure of physical and mental im- 
provement, whenever possible. In Germany by far the 
greater number of the 121 institutions for deaf-mutes and the 
blind are to-day under State control; and of the 115 such 
institutions in the United States, 66 were in 1904 public, 34 
private, and only 15 ecclesiastical. 

1. Deaf-mutes. — Inability to speak is, as a rule, not due to 
any defect in the vocal organs, but is the result of congenital 
or very early deafness. A French clergyman, Charles 
Michel de I'Epee (17 12-1788), was the first to interest him- 
self in behalf of such unfortunates. He invented the so- 
called sign language and manual alphabet, and in 1770 began 
an institution for deaf-mutes in Paris. His method has, 
however, been almost entirely superseded by the oral method 
in which articulation and lip reading form the basis of in- 
struction. This was introduced by the German, Samuel 
Heinicke (17 29-1 790), in an institution which he founded at 
Leipzig in 1798, and was subsequently improved by others. 
This system is to-day everywhere yielding excellent results. 
Those who enjoy its advantages not only learn to articulate 
fairly well, but to converse with others by reading what they 
say from their lips. By far the larger number of the 91 insti- 
tutions for deaf-mutes in Germany are to-day maintained 
by the State, and can, therefore, not be classified as Inner 
Mission institutions. 

2. The Blind. — ^The causes of blindness are various. 
Perhaps the most frequent is the neglect of sore and inflamed 
eyes in early childhood; hence, the large number of blind 
found among the poor and ignorant. 

Only during the last century and a quarter have the blind, 
like the deaf and dumb, become a very special object of 
Christian care. The pioneers in this kind of work were 
Valentin Haiiy (1756-182 2) in Paris, and Joh. Wilh. Klein 
(i 765-1 848) in Vienna. In 1806 the first institution for the 



196 FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 

blind in Germany was opened at Berlin. In 19 10 there were 
33. Nearly all of these, though begun as private institu- 
tions, are to-day wholly or in part subject to State control. 
In our own land most of the States have made provision for 
the instruction of the blind, and some of the institutions are 
not excelled by any in the world. 

Haiiy invented the system of teaching the blind to read by 
means of raised letters. This and its modifications have 
been almost entirely superseded, especially for writing, by 
the Braille system, a combination of dots for the letters, in 
various positions. 

Besides giving instruction in the branches usually taught 
in other schools, an institution for the blind must also seek 
to fit its pupils for life by giving them a measure of manual 
training. This generally consists in such occupations as 
broom-, basket-, mattress-, and brush-making, carpet weav- 
ing, cane-seating, and piano-tuning for men; and sewing, 
crochetting, knitting, fancy work, and sometimes cane-seat- 
ing for women. Many blind show an extraordinary apti- 
tude for the higher branches of learning, especially for music; 
and under the excellent system of instruction in our own 
leading institutions many of their graduates have achieved 
success as scholars and musicians, and nearly all are made in 
part or wholly self-supporting. For those who do not be- 
come so, special asylums or working-homes are necessary if 
they have no home of their own. 

3. The Crippled. — While the care and instruction of deaf- 
mutes and the blind has everywhere become almost exclus- 
ively the work of the State, the care of the crippled still 
remains as a form of Inner Mission activity in Germany and 
the Scandinavian countries. 

The first institution in the world designed especially for 
cripples was founded by a Roman Catholic, Johann Nepo- 
muk von Kurz, at Munich, in 1832. In 1S53 and 1S58 
this was followed by two others in Paris, likewise under 
Roman Catholic auspices. The Rcfornied Pastor Bost 
received cripples into his institutions at Lalorcc, France; 




Institution for Cripples at Cracau 




Tiiii "Colony of Mkrcv " at Biklkfkld 



CARE OF THE SICK AND THE DEFECTIVE I97 

and in 1861 and 1864 two institutions for crippled girls 
sprang into existence in Switzerland. But the real develop- 
ment of this work began with Hans Knudsen (18 13-1886), a 
Danish Lutheran pastor, who, in 1872, organized a society at 
Copenhagen for the care of lame and crippled children. 
In the first twenty-five years of its existence this society 
relieved the needs of over 6000. It conducts a clinic and an 
industrial school, and maintains an asylum for cripples. 
From Copenhagen the work spread to Norway, Sweden, 
Finland, England, Germany, and the United States. 

Of the 40 institutions of this character in Germany, most 
of which are under Inner Mission auspices, the '' Oberlinhaus " 
at NowawTS, near Potsdam, founded in 1886, and the 
" Samariterhaus " at Cracau, near Magdeburg, founded in 
1892, are probably best known. The latter is said to be the 
largest home for cripples in the world. 

The design of all these institutions is to give the children 
who are brought to them the very best orthopaedic treatment, 
and such intellectual and industrial training as will enable 
improvable cases to become at least measurably self-support- 
ing. 

Among the comparatively few institutions of this kind in 
the United States the splendid Widener Memorial Industrial 
Home for Crippled Children in Philadelphia, opened in 1906, 
is especially noteworthy. The Good Shepherd Home for 
Crippled Orphans at Allen town, Pa., is the one institution 
of the kind in the Lutheran Church of America. 

4. The Epileptic. — Perhaps no sufferers deserve so much 
sympathy as those afflicted with that my sterious disease known 
as epilepsy. The epileptic is always in suspense. He is con- 
stantly haunted by the fear of a seizure in public. If his 
infirmity becomes knov/n he is shunned. It excludes him 
from school and church, from workshop, office, and society. 
No one will have him; and when the seizures become so 
frequent and violent that even his own family can hardly 
continue to care for him, whither shall he go? The malady, 
moreover, is incurable; and unless the sufferer is mercifully 



198 FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 

relieved by an early death, his nervous irritability increases, 
his mind by degrees becomes clouded, and not infrequently 
he reaches a state of partial or complete idiocy. 

Until the epileptic becomes imbecile or dangerous he is not 
a subject for an insane asylum; nor should he at any time 
be consigned to an almshouse. To make life endurable for 
him three things are essential: industry suited to his ability; 
an inviting home in the company of those similarly afflicted 
who will not regard him as an object to be avoided; and, 
above all, the comforts of the Christian religion. These 
essentials are best provided in an institution that is the direct 
outgrowth of intelligent Christian charity, and is conducted 
not chiefly along medical lines (for medicine can do little or 
nothing for the epileptic), but as a place in which pastoral 
care and the patient ministrations of Christian love take 
precedence. It was von Bodelschwingh who characterized 
the properly conducted epileptic institution as " the quiet 
working-place in which the epileptic can still employ his 
waning powers in a useful way, and prepare himself in peace 
for his heavenly home." 

To Pastor von Bodelschwingh belongs the credit of having 
given the work for and among these unfortunates its first 
powerful impulse. Called in 1873 to the httle home at 
Bielefeld, established in 1867, he there introduced the cottage 
and family system as the number of patients increased, made 
provision for suitable industries, began to train deacons and 
deaconesses for the work, and developed " a colony of mercy " 
that has become the wonder and admiration of the world. 
Here over 2000 sufferers now have their quiet home, minis- 
tered to in body and soul as only those can minister 
whose hearts are filled with sincerest love to their Lord and 
His needy brethren. 

Including Bielefeld there arc now nine private institutions 
for epileptics in evangelical Germany. The largest next to 
Bielefeld are found at Rastenburg in East Prussia and at 
Stetten in Wiirttemberg. It was at the hitter place that the 
care of epileptics as a separate branch of German Inner 



CARE OF THE SICK AND THE DEFECTIVE 1 99 

Mission work was first begun in the year 1866. Epileptics 
who are feeble-minded are also received into institutions for 
the latter; and those who have become so violent as to be 
dangerous are in large numbers taken by the asylums for the 
idiotic and insane. 

Only at a few places in the United States have the begin- 
nings been made for the separate care of epileptics. Ohio 
took the lead by estabhshing its Hospital for Epileptics at 
GallipoHs in 1891. This was followed by the Craig Colony 
at Sonyea, Livingston Co., N. Y., in 1896, and the Village 
for Epileptics at Skillman, N. J., in 1898. These are State 
institutions. There are small private institutions in Massa- 
chusetts, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. Possibly the nearest 
approach to the Bielefeld idea is found in the Passavant 
Memorial Homes at Rochester, Pa., begun in 1895, and in 
charge of a Lutheran pastor and Lutheran deaconesses. 

For further information concerning this subject and the 
various other operations carried on at Bielefeld the reader is 
referred to Julie Sutter's fascinating book entitled " A 
Colony of Mercy; or, Social Christianity at Work." 

5. The Idiotic and Insane. — " Idiocy is a defect of mind 
which is either congenital or due to causes operating during 
the first years of life, before there has been a development of 
the mental faculties, and may exist in different degrees."^ 
The great majority of idiots are the offspring of parents of 
low vitality and mentality, or who were blood relatives, or 
who were given to intemperance and sexual excesses. So- 
called accidental idiocy may result from diseases and in- 
juries in childhood affecting the brain and spinal cord, and 
often follows epilepsy. 

There are many degrees of idiocy, varying " from the child 
that is simply dull and incapable of profiting by the ordinary 
school to the gelatinous mass that simply eats and lives." ^ 
When mental imbecility accom^panies physical deformity it is 
called cretinism. 

' Maudsley: Responsibility in Mental Diseases. Ch. 3, p. 66. 

* On this whole subject see Warner: American Charities. Ch. xii. 



200 FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 

The first to interest himself seriously in the idiotic was the 
Swiss physician, Dr. Louis Guggenbiihl (1816-1863), who 
in 1836 founded an institution for such unfortunates near 
Interlacken. Though this at first met with considerable 
encouragement and support, it soon became evident that 
idiocy was an incurable malady, and that for those thus 
aflflicted least of all could be done by medical means. Gug- 
genbiihl's institution, therefore, had a comparatively brief 
existence; but, if it failed to accomplish anything else, it 
served to direct attention to a class for whose relief nothing 
had hitherto been done. 

About the same time a French physician, Dr. Edouard 
Seguin (1812-1880), opened a school in Paris (1838) for the 
training and instruction of idiots. So excellent were his 
methods and their results that he has come to be regarded 
as the founder of the modern system of dealing with imbeciles. 
It was Dr. Seguin who first fully demonstrated that the feeble- 
minded are responsive only to patient training and not to 
medical treatment. According to his method '' each bodily 
organ is to be perseveringly taught to perform the normal 
functions in which it is deficient by mechanical contrivances, 
by imitation, by object-lessons, and by music or other appro- 
priate sounds. On this basis is superimposed training in 
moral and social duties as the pupil becomes susceptible to 
it." ^ This is the system now followed in Europe and 
America. 

In Germany it was Pastor Julius Disselhoff , of the Kaisers- 
werth Deaconess House, who first awakened a general interest 
in behalf of the idiotic, though in several places some slight 
provision had already been made for such. The publication 
in 1857 of his treatise on the subject led to the establishment 
of nearly all the 46 institutions for the feeble-minded and 
idiotic found on German soil to-day, most of which are dis- 
tinctively Inner Mission undertakings, supported by volun- 
tary contributions. Including those established and mam- 
tained by the State, as well as the public and private institu- 

' Encyclopedia Briiannica, Stoddart cd. Vol. xxi, p. 916. 




Kensington Dispensary, Philadelphia, Pa. 



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Passavant Homes for Epileptics, Rochester, Pa. 



CARE OF THE SICK AND THE DEFECTIVE 20I 

tions designed exclusively or in part for epileptics, it is said 
that considerably more than one hundred minister to this 
class of sufferers. 

Even under the best training a really idiotic child never 
becomes entirely normal, though the milder cases of feeble- 
mindedness can often be much improved. The aim to be kept 
in view in dealing with these unfortunates is to make their 
existence more tolerable. Careful attention must be given to 
hygiene and the building up of the physical constitution by 
means of nourishing diet, baths, exercise, fresh air, out-door 
employment, and the like. To this must be added such 
educational influences, patiently applied, as will tend to 
bring about a development of the intellectual and spiritual 
life. For all this the institution is needed; and that institu- 
tion, moreover, can count on the best results in which pastor, 
physician, and the teaching force are all actuated by the same 
Christian motives, and whose work is done in utmost harmony. 
In many of the German institutions deacons and deaconesses 
are employed as teachers and care-takers. In the United 
States similar institutions, nearly all of which are under State 
control, take very high rank. 

Insanity is the term employed to designate mental aberra- 
tion manifesting itself in persons with brains congenitally 
perfect. It is due to a variety of causes, assumes many 
forms, and is often curable. There was a time when the 
treatment accorded the insane was inhuman and brutal. 
Not more than a century ago the unhappy inmates of so- 
called mad-houses " were immured in cells, chained to the 
walls, flogged, starved, and not infrequently killed"; ^ nor are 
conditions to-day very much better in some almshouses to 
which insane persons are still unfortunately committed.^ 

The first institution especially for the insane was St. 
Luke's Hospital, London, opened in 1751 ; but to Dr. Philippe 
Pinel (i 745-1826) of France, and Drs. Robert Gardiner Hill 
(1811-1878) and John Conolly (i 794-1867) of England, 

^Encyclopedia Britannica, Stoddart ed. Vol. xiii, p. 117. 

*See article in The American Magazine, June, 1910, pp. 214-222. 



202 FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 

belongs the credit of having inaugurated the first real reforms 
in the treatment of the insane. They did away with all 
mechanical restraint and introduced the so-called non- 
restraint system now practiced in all well-conducted insane 
asylums with happy results. 

The extensive and humane provision which Christian 
lands to-day make for the care and treatment of the insane 
in public and in private institutions is another demonstration 
of the pervasive and enlightening influence of the Gospel. 
In our own country, besides the private institutions, practi- 
cally every State has one or more asylums for the insane poor. 
The latter are largely the result of the philanthropic labors of 
Dorothea L. Dix (i 805-1 887), who about 1840 visited every 
State of the Union east of the Rocky Mountains, and sought 
to impress leading citizens and legislatures m.th. a sense of 
their duty towards those who were mentally defective and 
diseased. 

In the insane asylum, as in the training-school for the feeble- 
minded and idiotic, the character of the attendants and their 
moral influence over their charges is of the first importance; 
and it is especially in this respect that the Inner Mission 
seeks to aid. Besides the very extensive provision which 
Germany makes for the insane in state institutions, there 
were in 1899 nine others under Inner Mission auspices. The 
first of these was begun by Fliedner at Kaisers werth in 1852, 
the second by von Bodelschwingh in 1889, and the rest were 
added during the last decade of the nineteenth century. 
The largest of these is " Tannenhof," at Llittringhausen, in 
the Rhine Province, opened in 1896, and having to-day up- 
wards of five hundred patients. In all these deacons and 
deaconesses are at work. 

6. The Enfeebled and Convalescent. — The exhausting de- 
mands made upon human energy by modern industry, and 
the felt need of a place to which hospitals and physicians can 
send patients to recuperate after sickness, have brought into 
being a multitude of rest and convalescent homes in Europe 
and America. Of the seventy or more institutions of this 



CARE OF THE SICK AND THE DEFECTIVE 203 

kind established by Inner Mission agencies since 1852, more 
than one-half are served by deaconesses, and their specifically 
Christian character is made manifest by the fact that in 
nearly all of them daily devotions are held. Thus they con- 
tribute not only to physical but also to spiritual health. 
The pioneer in this kind of work was Pastor Blumhard of 
Wiirttemberg. 

7. Invalid Children. — The Inner Mission also has a special 
concern for invalid children. Work in behalf of these was 
first suggested and undertaken by the Christian physician, 
Dr. August Hermann Werner, of Ludwigsburg, who opened 
an establishment for this class of sufferers as early as 1854, 
and another in 186 1. By 1895 there were 39 in different 
parts of Germany. In 1876 the first seashore resort for sick 
children was opened. Through the efforts of Dr. Benecke, 
of Marburg, who especially recognized the curative virtues 
of sea-air and salt-water baths for children afflicted with 
scrofula, others of the same kind speedily came into existence. 
Of the several classes of German health institutions for chil- 
dren, the statistics of 1899 showed a total of 59. A few of 
these are open the entire year, the majority only during the 
summer, and nearly all are in charge of deaconesses, with a 
physician at the head. 

Extensive provision is also made by Inner Mission socie- 
ties and institutions, often in conjunction with associations 
of a merely philanthropic character, for giving poor and feeble 
children of the cities a brief summ^er vacation in the country. 
The first attempts of this kind were made by Pastor Schoost 
in Hamburg and Pastor Bion m Zurich, in 1876. Since then 
this work has grown to large proportions, and, like the work 
for invalid children, finds its analogue in many similar under- 
takings in America. 

c. Homes for the Aged and Infirm 

The situation of the aged and infirm is often pitiful in the 
extreme. Perhaps they are left alone in the world, or the 



204 FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 

children and relatives who remain cannot or will not care 
for them. Poor, but of good character, decrepit and no 
longer able to earn a living, suffering possibly from some in- 
curable disease that will ere long make them bed-ridden and 
helpless invalids, whither shall they go? To the alms- 
house to become the wards of the State, when they have been 
communicants of the Church? No; for such Christian love 
must likewise provide a place in which they can spend the 
evening of their life in comfort, receive the consolations of 
the Gospel, and prepare themselves in peace for their eternal 
rest. Nor has Christian love neglected this duty. The 
many hundreds of permanent homes for the aged, infirm, 
and incurable, Protestant and Catholic, in Europe and 
America, testify as few other things do that Christian love 
is not dead in the world. Thus in 1904 there were in the 
United States alone 457 private and 236 ecclesiastical insti- 
tutions mostly for the class of needy ones now under consider- 
ation; while in 1910, 1013 deaconesses were active in 460 
similar institutions of Germany. 

VII. The Conflict with Social Ills 

Social ills are in part due to social mal-adjustments which 
can to an extent be corrected by legislation, and in still 
greater measure to the wicked ways of individuals themselves. 
Much of the social unrest of to-day can no doubt be traced 
to the feeling that certain favored classes have it in their 
power to exploit those less favored; that these classes often 
use this power for their own aggrandizement; and that in 
their lust for gain they oppress the weak, and in various 
ways prevent them from obtaining an equitable share of the 
fruits of industry. It is claimed, and not without reason, 
that these same classes, altogether regardless of the effect on 
health, family, and the standard of living, often pay the 
minimum of wages for the maximum of work; that they make 
no distinction between week-days and Sundays; that they 
look upon their employes as mere machines; that they dis- 



CONFLICT WITH SOCIAL ILLS 205 

claim all liability for those injured and killed; and that they 
compel even wives and children to enter the ranks of wage- 
earners in order to make up the family expenses. The 
feeling of injustice thus engendered finds expression, on the 
one hand, in the extravagant statements and demands of 
Socialism, whose most radical advocates, in order to bring 
about a new social order, would overthrow the Christian 
religion itself; and, on the other, in the more rational efforts 
of those philanthropists who would regulate wage scales, 
working hours, child labor, labor disputes, factory and house 
inspection, and a multitude of other things affecting the social 
order by judicious legislation and arbitration. 

But the matter is not altogether one-sided. Those who 
are often foremost in making the outcry against the more 
favored may be equally culpable, only in another way. They 
may make demands of their employers that are utterly un- 
reasonable and indefensible; they may want the maximum 
of wages for the minimum of labor, even in times of depres- 
sion; they may render service with an envious spirit and a 
hostile mien; they may have extravagant ideas, and may even 
with a good income live beyond their means or spend much of 
it in dissipation. Thus both classes are guilty of wrong- 
doing, and neither can charge the responsibility for social 
ills exclusively upon the other. 

In the last analysis the primary source of social ills is in 
the sinful human heart, whether that heart beat in the breast 
of the more highly favored or in that of the less favored. 
" The obvious fact is, that for a very large part of social dis- 
order the chief responsibility lies in the passions and ambi- 
tions of individual men, and that no social arrangement can 
guarantee social welfare unless there is brought home to vast 
numbers of individuals a profounder sense of personal sin. 
A social curse, for instance, like that of the drink habit is 
legitimately attacked by legislation and organization; but 
these external remedies will be applied in vain if there is any 
slackening of the conviction that with most persons drunken- 
ness is not a misfortune for which society is responsible, but 



2o6 FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITV 

a sin for which the individual is responsible. Or, again, the 
problem of charity will remain an ever-increasing problem of 
relief and alms miless there is included, within the problem 
of rehef, the stirring of individual capacity to do without 
relief, and to enlarge the range of initiative and self-respect. 
Or, once more, the problem of industry will open into no 
permanent adjustment between capital and labor so long as 
capitalists are rapacious and merciless, and laborers are 
passionate and disloyal. To whatever phase of the social 
question we turn, we observe, within the sphere of social 
arrangements, the interior problem of the redemption of 
character. Much social suffering is due to the social order; 
but much, and probably more, is due to human sin." ^ 

And what must be the attitude of the Church and the 
Church's ministry towards all the questions pertaining to 
the social welfare? Shall the Church stand aloof, and her 
ministry be silent? No; but both must be careful not to 
lose sight of their proper mission. That mission is primarily 
to save men from the power and condemnation of sin by 
bringing them into captivity to the Gospel and into conscious 
union with Jesus Christ. Thus only can individual and social 
righteousness be brought about. Social betterment must 
begin with the units which compose society; and only in 
proportion as these are renewed, spiritualized, and energized 
in all human relations to do the will of God will social ills 
disappear. That preacher utterly mistakes his calling who in 
his pulpit ministrations is first a sociologist and only second- 
arily an expounder of Divine truth." Nevertheless, he must 
seek to keep himself informed regarding existing conditions, so 

» Peabody: Jesus Christ and the Social Question, pp. ii6, 117. 

* "Many a Christian preacher, stirred by the recognition of social wrong, — 
and not infrequently by the burning message of Carlyle or of Ruskin, — ^^is called 
to be a prophetic voice, crying in the wilderness of the social question; but 
many a prophet mistakes his office for that of the economist, and gives a pas- 
sionate devotion to industrial programmes which are sure to fail. Neither 
ethical passion nor rhetorical genius equip a preacher for economic judgments. 
It is for the prophet of righteousness to e.xhorl and warn rather than to ad- 
minister and organize. A dilTerent temper and training are require<l for 
wisdom in industrial affairs." — Peauody : Jesus Christ and the Social Question, 
PP- 35, 36. 



CONFLICT WITH SOCIAL ILLS 207 

that as a fearless preacher of righteousness he may call social 
sinners of every grade and class to repentance, and set before 
them the teachings of Scripture concerning social morality. 
The mutual duties of employers and employes, the steward- 
ship of wealth, the responsibilities and obligations of those 
charged with pubhc and private trusts, the subordination of 
selfish interests to the common good, honesty in business, 
proper regard for the welfare of others, the sanctity of 
marriage and the family, the sacredness of human life — 
all these and others of like nature are themes about which 
the Scriptures have much to say, and for the treatment of 
which preachers in those churches that have retained the 
Gospels and Epistles of the Christian year will find abundant 
opportunity. As Divine truth is thus again and again 
brought home to the hearts of the hearers, and as the thought 
is emphasized that there can be neither personal nor social 
righteousness apart from Christ and His teachings, the 
Church, faithful to her primary mission, becomes the effective 
power for righteousness in the life of the nation. Neverthe- 
less as not all the component members of the social fabric 
are thus savingly influenced, many ills are bound to remain, 
and for the relief of these Christian charity must likewise 
find ways and means. And to some of these let us now turn 
our attention. 

a. The Relief of Parish Needs 

The comprehensive German term employed for this is 
Gemeindepflege, i. e., the care which a parish as such, and apart 
from institutions, gives the poor and sick, the forsaken and 
neglected within its bounds, and the various efforts it 
makes in behalf of children. In its present form Gemeinde- 
pflege is administered almost exclusively by deaconesses; 
and as it includes practically the entire range of benevolent 
labors it is very properly called " the heart and climax, the 
flower and pearl " of deaconess activity. 

Gemeindepflege had its beginning in the Church of the first 



208 FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 

century (p. 36). Phebe, the first deaconess of whom we read, 
was a parish deaconess in the congregation at Cenchrea 
(Rom. 16 : i). Besides the deacons, deaconesses under the 
direction of the bishop (presbyter) were active in the churches 
far beyond the time of Constantine. Chrysostom, bishop 
of Constantinople (397-407), employed 40 deaconesses in 
his congregation. During the Middle Ages this form of 
Christian service disappeared. Efforts to revive it at the 
time of the Reformation met with little success, as the persons 
properly qualified for such work were wanting. Only after 
the restoration of the female diaconate by Fliedner did it 
again become possible. Since then the parish diaconate has 
been extensively introduced, especially in the large cities, 
where the need for it is greatest. Thus, according to the 19 10 
statistics of the 84 motherhouses in the Kaiserswerth Union, 
5486 sisters were then employed in 3454 congregations. 

Ideal work of this kind in a city parish is constituted as 
follows: 

At some convenient place within the parish a central sta- 
tion is established. Here the two or three sisters live and 
keep house, assisted when necessary by a girl or woman of 
the congregation. From here they go out to their work and 
here they may be found by those requiring their ser\dces. 
The station is also a depot of supplies, such as contributions 
of clothing, food, bedding, sick-room requisites, and such 
other articles as the sisters may need among the sick and poor. 
These articles should come from the well-to-do members of 
the congregation, and in soliciting them the sisters form 
the connecting link between the rich and the poor, though 
without thought of exempting the former from personally 
participating in the work whenever practicable. A certain 
amount of money should likewise at all times be at the dis- 
posal of the sisters for supplies not otherwise furnished; 
and of their receipts and expenditures they should regularly 
render account to the proper authorities. 

In most cases the major part of the work is among the 
poor and sick. Sickness is often a cause as well as a result 



CONFLICT WITH SOCIAL ILLS 209 

of poverty. The relief of both must, therefore, go hand 
in hand, but care must be taken not to encourage indolence 
and dependence when the emergency is past. The most 
useful service that the sister can then render is to seek to 
bring about such a change of conditions as will enable her 
charges to win their own bread. If by reason of incurable 
disease this is not possible, and aid can no longer be con- 
tinued, a place of refuge must be found in a permanent home. 

Another important branch of parish work by sisters is the 
care and instruction of children in Christian kindergartens 
and the Sunday school. Besides the benefit this brings the 
children, it gives the sister an opportunity to learn something 
about the homes from which they come, and often enables 
her, through the children, to win her way to the hearts and 
into the lives of parents. Indeed, a city congregation whose 
church is located among the poorer classes of working people 
can engage in no more effective form of missionary service. 

In addition to these more usual forms of parish work there 
are others in which parish sisters may engage as circumstances 
suggest and demand, such as conducting sewing classes, 
directing the work of women's and girls' societies, finding 
proper lodgings for unemployed women and girls, making the 
necessary arrangements for placing neglected, feeble-minded, 
bhnd, and deaf-mute children in institutions, following up 
the imperiled, fallen, and imprisoned, and the like. Such 
work will of necessity bring the sister into contact with all 
sorts of conditions, and with all manner of persons — the 
rich and the poor, the high and the low, oflScials and private 
citizens. Hence not every sister is fitted for parish work. 
" The deaconesses employed in a parish need practi- 
cal wisdom and active energy. They must, with com- 
mon sense, circumspection and kindness, discriminate be- 
tween truth and falsehood, distinguish real from mistaken 
help, be able to act with readiness and yet with forethought, 
and be prepared to face the deepest misery, the most pitiable 
depravity. They must be equally at home in the kitchen, at 
the wash-tub, by the sick-bed, and in the manager's offices. 



210 FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 

They must procure assistance where their own strength is 
not sufficient, as for instance, in night- watching, but must at 
all times themselves set the example. They see much sorrow, 
wretchedness, and danger. They dare not despond with the 
faint-hearted nor become excited with the restless, and yet 
they must be able to weep with them that weep and rejoice 
with them that do rejoice. They must learn to ask without 
being importunate; they must, with ready tact, assist the 
physician and adapt themselves to difficult situations among 
rich and poor. They must be communicative and yet 
discreet; motherly toward the children, the poor, and the 
sick; given to prayer, and be able without obtrusiveness and 
vanity to serve souls by faithful intercession and heartfelt 
words of comfort. 'Blessed wonder-workers' some one has 
called them. There is no faculty of Christian womanhood 
which does not find employment in this work. May the 
Lord grant that persons be found in increasing numbers 
who count it grace, in humility and faithfulness, to strive to 
fulfil this office so necessary and so precious." ^ 

The chief purpose of the parish diaconate is to aid the 
poor, though a sister may under certain circumstances also 
do private nursing in the homes of the rich. But even when 
laboring for these she is in a position to benefit the poor; for 
it is the wealthy who must fill her hands with gifts for the 
needy. Nevertheless, for what she does neither she nor her 
motherhouse will accept actual remuneration. If in grati- 
tude for service rendered the rich make a donation, as they 
should, this is again used in behalf of the poor. 

Parish deaconesses should be under the general direc- 
tion of the pastor, who should regard them as the connecting 
link between himself and the needy, and as his chief assist- 
ants in providing for their physical and spiritual relief. 
The means required should be furnished by the congrega- 
tion or by a society within the congregation. 

" Such parish work," says Wacker, " in addition to its 

> Wacker: TJte Deaconess Calling. Mary J. Drcxcl Home, Philadelphia, 

p. I20. 



CONFLICT WITH SOCIAL ILLS 211 

spiritual importance and its immediate benefit as an evidence 
of practical Christianity, contributes largely to the solution 
of the social problem.'* 

b. The Care or the Poor 

In its broadest aspects the care of the poor presents many 
other phases not touched upon in the preceding section. 
Were it possible to have in every community an ideal parish 
system, administered by trained workers, other methods of 
relieving the poor would be reduced to a minimum. But 
this is manifestly not universally practicable, least of all in 
American communities, with their denominational differences 
and overlapping parish boundaries; nor could such a system 
provide for that residuum of wrecked humanity that will have 
nothing to do with the Church except as it, can exploit her 
charity. It is, however, important that, in order to obtain 
the best results, there should be a proper understanding and 
cordial cooperation between the different relief agencies. 
" Poor relief by civil authorities, by church officers, and by 
free associations are in their place and measure justified; 
and they should organically work together/'^ — the Church 
by her teachings furnishing the motive, and through her own 
labors seeking to bring spiritual as well as material benefit to 
those aided; and the civil authorities and free associations in 
many cases supplying the means. 

In spite of the theories of some modern sociologists poverty 
can never be entirely abolished, even though such beneficent 
improvements are brought about as will change the character 
of the social fabric. The Lord's statement that " ye have the 
poor always with you " will remain true to the end of time. 
The reasons for this are manifold. However much may be 
done to remove some of the social and economic causes of 
poverty, other causes — personal and general, self-inflicted 
and impreventable — will never cease to operate. Wars, 
failure of harvests, industrial depressions, etc., will continue 

» Frankfort Inner Mission Congress, 1854. 



212 FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 

to bring want to some; drink, immorality, waste, ineffi- 
ciency, and indolence to others; and accident, sickness, 
physical defects, and old age to a still further number. In 
the end much poverty has its root in human sinfulness and 
will, therefore, remain to trouble the world until sin is no more. 

The rehef of the poor, which in the Early Church was 
purely individual and personal, has passed through many 
stages of deformation and reformation, and is to-day ad- 
ministered largely by the State, to a considerable extent by 
associations, in part by the Church, and often quite indis- 
criminately by individuals. 

Of these the personal or individual method, were it still 
administered as in the Early Church, would seem to be the 
simplest and most natural; and yet, as practiced to-day, this 
is, of all methods, the worst. Indiscriminately to hand out 
nickels, and meals, and clothing to everyone who solicits 
alms is in most cases to help to manufacture and support 
tramps and hobos and other parasites. Giving that en- 
courages imposture and idleness, and that leads directly to 
confirmed pauperism was certainly not in the Lord's mind 
when He said, " Give to him that asketh thee"; but under- 
stood in the light of other passages {e. g., 2 Thess. 3 : 10; 
I John 3:17) He meant to teach that the act of giving 
should be guided by combined Christian wisdom and love. 
When circumstances and conditions are not known, and a 
personal investigation cannot be made, it is, therefore, always 
a safe and, indeed, the only proper course to refer the appli- 
cant to some organization that makes it its business to ascer- 
tain these. 

State relief of the poor, i. e., through institutions or agen- 
cies entirely under the control of the State, county, township, 
or municipality, is the exact opposite of the personal or indi- 
vidual method. Aside from the humanitarian considera- 
tions involved, and the further fact that the State should 
have a concern for its dependents from motives of self- 
preservation, this system has the great advantage of having 
the necessary financial resources regularly provided. But 



CONFLICT WITH SOCIAL ILLS 213 

it is largely impersonal and mechanical, with " less kindness 
on the part of the giver, and less gratitude on the part of the 
receiver," encourages the indolent and shiftless to claim the 
State's relief as a right, has little or no moral influence over 
those in its care, and in our own land is in special danger of 
being administered by officials who owe their appointment 
to partisan pohtics and who use their position for personal 
gain. A great forward step will be taken when the State 
will furnish the means for such institutions, but commit 
their management to men and women whose Christian 
character and special training will guarantee their proper 
administration. 

To supply the State's deficiencies and furnish the trained 
workers would seem to be the special province of the form of 
poor relief usually denominated as ecclesiastical. Where 
such trained workers as deacons and deaconesses are avail- 
able, a personnel can be furnished that is actuated by the 
loftiest motives, and that with bread for the body also seeks 
to supply the bread of life. But whilst the Church in many 
cases could do this, lack of interest, organization and means, 
and utter forgetfulness of the Early Church's practice 
respecting the poor often stand in the way of an effective 
development of this species of relief. Yet no Christian con- 
gregation should ever permit one of its own members to be- 
come an inmate of an almshouse. 

In the large cities of the United States considerable relief 
work is done by associations specially formed for this purpose. 
Many of these were organized more than half a century ago 
under the title of " Societies for the Improvement of the 
Condition of the Poor," and had the highest purposes in 
view. " In fact, most of their announced objects agree 
quite closely with those of the most modern societies. It 
was their purpose to find work for all wilhng to do it, to in- 
vestigate all cases thoroughly, to raise the needy above the 
need of relief, and incidentally to relieve directly such want 
as seemed to require it. But as these Societies for the Im- 
provement of the Condition of the Poor were dispensers of 



214 FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 

material aid, this function, as Mr. Kellogg puts it, submerged 
all others, ' and they sank into the sea of common almsgiving.* 
Their work was done more or less well; but there is a general 
agreement that twenty years ago (in the seventies) private 
almsgiving in American cities, for the most part through 
organized and even incorporated societies, was profuse and 
chaotic, while still not meeting the demands made upon it. 
It was dispensed in tantalizing doles miserably inadequate 
for effectual succor where the need was genuine, and dealt 
out broadcast among criminals and impudent beggars."^' 

To bring about a better and more orderly system of dis- 
pensing rehef , the charity organization movement, which had 
its origin in London in 1868, was introduced, and the first 
Charity Organization Society established in Buffalo, in 
December, 1877. Since then such societies have multipHed 
rapidly. According to Dr. Warner, their objects and methods 
are the following: To bring about the cooperation of all 
charitable agencies in a given locaHty, and the best co- 
ordination of their efforts, and thus prevent the overlapping 
of rehef; to obtain an accurate knowledge of all cases treated; 
to find prompt and adequate relief for all that should have it ; 
to expose imposters and prevent wilful idleness; to find work 
for all able and willing to do anything; through volunteer 
visitors, who are willing to go to the poor as friends and not 
as almsgivers, to establish relations of personal interest and 
sympathy between the poor and the well-to-do; to prevent 
pauperism; and, finally, to collect and diffuse knowledge on 
all subjects connected with the administration of charities. 
Thus these societies serve as a sort of clearing-house for the 
relief agencies of a city, and have done not a little to S3'S- 
tematize the work. 

A method of out-door relief that has met with great suc- 
cess in Germany is the so-called Elberfcld system, first in- 
troduced in the city from which it derives its name in 1852, 

'Warner: American Charities, p. 376; paraphrased from Charles D. 
Kellof^K's paper in (he Proceedings of the National Conference of Charities 
and Correction, 1893, pp. 53, 54. 




AuGusTANA Hospital, Chicago, III. 



CONFLICT WITH SOCIAL ILLS 21$ 

by Daniel von der Heydt, the head of an old-established 
banking firm, and for years a member of the Cit}^ Council. 
Following in the footsteps of Chalmers, who had undertaken 
to revive the congregational or parish method of poor rehef 
in Glasgow (p. 62), and having before his mind Jethro's 
counsel to Moses, Exodus 18:21: "Thou shalt provide 
out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of 
truth, hating covetousness, ... to be rulers over thousands, 
rulers over hundreds, rulers over fifties, and rulers over tens," 
von der Heydt introduced a comm^unal form of poor rehef, 
adapted to modern conditions, of which the method pro- 
posed by Jethro is the working principle. Under this sys- 
tem an entire city is divided into districts, over each of which 
is set an Armenpfleger or helper. These districts are so small 
that a helper will, as a rule, have no more than four cases to 
look after, and can, therefore, do his work carefully and thor- 
oughly. A certain number of these small districts again form 
a precinct, presided over by a superintendent, and these 
superintendents again constitute a central administrative 
board for the entire city. All the helpers in each precinct 
gather fortnightly as a local board to report on the needs of 
their districts and to devise the best means of rehef for each 
case. Each helper can furnish minute information regarding 
the famines in his care. " He know^s the wage-earning capacity 
of each member; he knows what they have been earning, and 
he knows any reason why earnings have stopped. He finds 
out the character of the people — whether they are sober or 
not, industrious or not, good parents or not, whether they are 
in good health or not. In fact, these helpers are something 
like a family doctor inquiring into everything and prescrib- 
ing accordingly. Nor is it even now merely a giving, but 
every effort is made to help them to find work; to encourage 
them to look for it; to recommend them to employers if 
possible; to assist them to new means of work if old channels 
have failed. All this is done; but in the meantime — and 
this is the grand principle — no man shall be left in want. 
If it is an urgent case, the helper is fully empowered to give the 



2l6 FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 

weekly allowance at once out of his own pocket, being re- 
paid at the next helpers' meeting; but, as a rule, he waits to 
report the case at his next board meeting, having in the mean- 
time made all due researches." ^ The allowance to be granted 
is decided by vote of the board on recommendation of the 
helper, but holds good only for one fortnight, i. e., until the 
next meeting of the board. Meanwhile the helper continues 
his visits, takes note of any changes for the better or worse, 
again reports the case to the board, and asks for such action 
as befits the case. While the support is adequate as long as' 
actually needed, every effort is made to induce self-help as 
speedily as possible. 

Under the Elberfeld system and its modifications in differ- 
ent cities "a city recognizes the duty of looking after its 
own people, and when the yearly budget is fixed for civic 
expenditure, they fix the year's poor budget as a part of it, 
guided by the past year's requirements, and leaving a margin 
for special effort in time of special need."^ It is, moreover, a 
remarkable feature of this system that for its administra- 
tion it never lacks men. Citizens of every rank, from trades- 
men to bankers, m^erchants, professors, lawyers, and doctors, 
esteem it an honor thus to serve their city and community. 

For a very intelligent discussion of this whole complex 
subject, upon which there seems to be no general agreement, 
the reader is referred to Warner's " American Charities," 
Thomas Y. Crowell & Co., New York, 1894. 

c. Labor Colonies and Relief Stations 

Labor colonies originated with the Rev. Dr. von Bodel- 
schwingh. It was in the winter of 1881, after a period of 
industrial depression, that day after day hungry men applied 
at the various cottages of the Bielefeld colony for something 
to eat. They belonged to the army of 200,000 unemployed 
who were then roving over Germany, and who threatened to 
become a serious menace to the nation. At first all who 
» Sutter: Cities and Citizais, pp. 32, 33. * Ibid., p. 25. 



CONFLICT WITH SOCIAL ILLS 21 7 

came were fed. But by degrees it was discovered that the 
same men would return again and again, and that probably 
a very considerable number were quite im willing to work even 
if they could. It was then that von Bodelschwingh con- 
ceived the idea of the first labor colony, based on the Pauline 
principle that if any will not work, neither should he eat 
(2 Thess. 3 : 10). In other words, von Bodelschwingh de- 
termined that only those should be fed, clothed, and housed 
by him who were disposed to do honest work in return. 
These he would seek to put on their feet again, leaving pro- 
fessional vagrants to be dealt with by the civil authorities. 

About ten miles from Bielefeld, on the western slope of 
the Teutoburger Forest, lies an unproductive, sandy plain, 
some thirty miles long and ten broad. At the depth of a few 
feet this is underlaid by a species of bog iron ore, which 
neither roots nor moisture can penetrate, but which, when 
brought to the surface, speedily disintegrates and becomes a 
natural fertilizer, turning the sandy waste into fruitful soil. 
Here was work for the unemployed who were still willing. 
Von Bodelschwingh laid his well-matured plans before the 
officials and leading citizens of Westphalia, obtained a loan 
of money from the province, bought a section of the plain, 
provided the necessary buildings, put a company of farm 
laborers from Bielefeld with a brother as housefather in charge, 
and on the 17th of August, 1882, opened the first labor colony 
in the world, under the protectorate of the Crown Prince 
Frederick William, naming it " Wilhelmsdorf," after the aged 
Emperor, who had become interested in the project. So 
successful did this first colony prove that others speedily 
sprang into existence. To-day there are 36 in Germany 
(5 of these Roman Catholic), into which over 200,000 men 
have been received since 1882; and from Germany the move- 
ment has spread into other countries, including our own. 

Labor colonies of the Wilhelmsdorf type are the creations 
of Christian love. Their purpose is through industry and 
Christian influences to save men from becoming confirmed 
vagabonds. They serve at the same time to distinguish 



2l8 FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 

and separate the unfortunate from the good-for-nothing, 
and are, as far as possible, helpful to the former in securing 
places of steady and profitable employment. After the man- 
ner of Wilhelmsdorf most of the colonies are located on 
waste land that can be made productive by irrigation, 
fertilization, etc., and hence provide work almost the entire 
year. Where necessary indoor industries are also intro- 
duced. The support is derived from free-will offerings, 
public subventions, and the labor of the colonists. The 
external — i. e., business — interests of a colony are committed 
to a board, while its internal management is entrusted to a 
housefather and his associates, who usually come from a 
Diakonenhaus. These must be men of decided Christian 
character, and possess a large measure of discretion, firmness, 
and practical wisdom. The colonies receive " all men, of 
whatever religion or rank, who are able and wilHng to work." 
While the rules are strict, they are kindly administered; and 
only repeated insubordination subjects one to dismissal. 
The duration of a man's stay at the colony is voluntary, but 
cannot exceed one year and eleven months. A stay of over 
two years would, under the law, permit him to claim it as his 
permanent home. He may, however, return after a first 
stay. 

The labor colonies have a bond of union in their Central 
Committee composed of representatives of the several colo- 
nies. This committee, with headquarters in Berlin, meets 
regularly for investigation, consultation, and the exchange 
of experiences and ideas. It issues a monthly called Der 
Wanderer, and publishes detailed reports of the work. 

Closely affiliated with the labor colonies are the so-called 
Naturalverpflegungsstationen, or relief stations. These are 
found all over Germany, a half a day's march apart. Their 
purpose is to prevent house-to-house begging. At the first 
station entered the wanderer is given a IVandcrschcin, a 
small blank-book ruled off into squares, into the first square 
of which the said station enters its stamped signature and 
the date. " The second square must be filled by the next 



CONFLICT WITH SOCIAL ILLS 219 

station in the order of the road, and so forth; and if your 
tramp turns aside from his appointed, indeed, self-appointed, 
way, the next station will not receive him — this is his dis- 
cipline ; and if he arrives at the last stage as unhelped as when 
he started, that is, without having found regular employ- 
ment (every station being a labor agency), he is likely to be 
a man who will not work, and the house of correction may 
receive him in the end. For at the stations any employer 
of the district makes known his want of hands, and a man who 
can and will work need not tramp for ever. The Wander- 
schein, also, is valid for two or three months only, after which 
it has to be renewed; and it would not be renewed without 
inquiring into a prolonged want of employment. The 
inveterate out-of-work is thus brought to book." ^ Besides 
being a labor agency, each relief station requires those who 
come to do a half day's work, usually wood-chopping, some- 
times stone-breaking. A man arrives from the previous 
station at noon, gets his dinner, works during the afternoon, 
has supper and a social evening, a decent bed in the dormitory, 
and next morning after breakfast is obliged to start for the 
next station, half a day's tramp away. Only over Sunday 
can he remain two nights at a station, without work on 
Sunday, of course. 

The support of these stations comes in part from the labor 
done and in part from the province. When well conducted 
and in connection with the labor colonies, they serve to save 
many a man from a worse fate, and have helped greatly to 
reduce professional vagrancy. 

What the labor colonies are designed to be for men, the 
Frauenheime are meant to be for homeless, moneyless, and 
friendless women. These homes or refuges, of which there 
were 14 in 1904, owe their origin to Pastor Heinersdorf, 
prison chaplain at Elberfeld. One evening a woman who had 
served several terms, and whose dire need had for a time led 
her to prostitution, came and begged him " for Jesus' sake " 
to help her to a respectable life. She refused to go to a 

» Sutter: A Colony of Mercy, p. 148. 



220 FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 

Magdalen asylum on the ground that she must earn some- 
thing for the support of an aged mother. To find work as a 
domestic or in a factory she must have decent clothing and 
good references. Would he not aid her in securing a position 
at a living wage? The good pastor could not withstand her 
pathetic appeal; he found a place for her; she proved a most 
faithful and industrious servant, married, and became a 
devoted wife and mother. When other unfortunates con- 
tinued to apply, Heinersdorf began his Elberfeld Refuge 
in 1882, at first in rented quarters, but since 1891 housed 
in its own well-appointed buildings, as a labor colony for 
women. 

In 1884 Pastor Isermeyer began a similar institution at 
Hildesheim, in Hanover. This has become the largest and 
most important of the labor colonies for women. The work 
in all of them consists chiefly in washing, ironing, sewing, and 
gardening, for which each inmate, according to her industry 
and behavior, is weekly credited with a money allowance 
over and above her support. When this reaches ten marks 
it becomes a savings bank account. Absolute freedom in 
coming and going, individual treatment, and (as over against 
the necessarily opposite method of the Magdalen asylums) 
as much freedom of movement within the colony as is con- 
sistent with good order — these are the fundamental principles 
introduced by Isermeyer, and that are still followed in the 
various institutions. The results have in many cases been 
very satisfactory. 

Probably to this manner of dealing with the unemployed, 
combined with the efficient Elberfeld system of poor relief, 
is due the fact stated by the British Fortnightly Review that 
less than 30,000 people are maintained in institutions for 
the poor in Germany, while in British workhouses there are 
between 300,000 and 400,000 paupers. 



CONFLICT WITH SOCIAL ILLS 221 

d. The Relief of Needs Occasioned by War and 
Pestilence 

The extraordinary needs resulting from war and pestilence 
have also claimed the attention of Inner Mission workers. 
Harro^ving details are given of the sufferings of the wounded 
during the German wars of liberation at the beginning of the 
last century. Thus we are told that eight days after the battle 
of Leipzig (1813) 2000 sick and woimded were still without 
a shirt, bed, mattress, or cover. During the Crimean War 
(1854) decided improvements were introduced by Florence 
Nightingale and her staff of nurses. But it was the Lombard 
campaign of 1859 that really gave birth to the present-day 
system of caring for the sick and wounded in times of war. 
The Genevan physician, Henri Dunant, published a startling 
account of what he had seen in two military hospitals on the 
field of Solferino. The agitation which he started resulted in 
an international conference at Geneva, at which an agreement 
was drawn up (the so-called Geneva Convention) and signed 
August 22, 1864, providing for the neutrality of ambulances 
and military hospitals as long as they contain any sick and 
woimded, and designating, in addition to the flag of their 
nation, a red cross on a white field as the distinctive flag 
and arm-badge by which such ambulances and hospitals, 
together with their personnel, should be known. To the 
movement begun at Geneva the Red Cross Society owes its 
existence. 

It was in the wars of 1864, 1866, and 1870-71 that deacon- 
esses and deacons gave proof of their eminent qualifications 
as nurses. Especially did the Franco-Prussian War, during 
which no less than 764 deaconesses were at work in 225 
army hospitals, help to direct attention to the diaconate and 
bring it into popular favor. But during the Schleswig- 
Holstein War, in which Roman Catholic Sisters of Charity and 
others were likewise active as nurses, it already became evi- 
dent that for the highest efficiency the service had to be 
organized, systematized, and directed. By degrees and in 



222 FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 

various ways this was brought about. To-day the Associa- 
tion of Volunteer War Nurses — a continuation of Wichern's 
miHtary diaconate (p. 68) — and the Knights of St. John 
make it their business in times of peace to prepare and hold 
nurses in readiness, in order to be able to offer them for 
service to the Central Committee of the Red Cross Society 
when war breaks out. The Knights of St. John have ar- 
rangements for this purpose with various deaconess houses, 
and the Association offers special' courses of instruction to 
aspirants. 

The forces thus trained are also always ready for service 
where pestilence rages. Schafer mentions no less than ten 
great epidemics of typhoid fever, small-pox, and cholera 
in different cities and provincqs of Germany, during the 
prevalence of which deacons and deaconesses from various 
houses rendered most efficient aid. 

e. Miscellaneous 

Among other movements recognized and fostered by 
the German Inner Mission are the following: 

1. Evangelical Workingmen's Societies. — Of these there are 
upwards of 700 with over 125,000 members. Their primary 
object is the application of the world-renewing powers of 
Christianity to present-day industrial conditions, and their 
reconstruction in accordance with the ethical ideas contained 
in and derived from the Gospel — a program far different 
from that of the so-called labor unions, and the only one that 
furnishes a sound basis for bringing about right relations be- 
tween capital and labor. 

2. Efforts for the Improvement of Housing Conditions. — 
The worst conditions respecting homes are usually found in 
rapidly growing cities. Building operations often do not 
keep pace with the increase of population, unsanitary tene- 
ments are erected which soon become overcrowded, landlords 
ask exorbitant rents, families are obliged to double-up or 
take lodgers, and some must even seek rofuuie in cellar rooms 



CONFLICT WITH SOCIAL ILLS 223 

below the level of the street.* All the large cities of Europe 
and America, together with many smaller ones, reveal con- 
ditions like these. Hence, for their own people, German 
Inner Mission workers, mindful of the fact that the well- 
conducted normal home, with plenty of room, air, sunlight, 
and privacy, is not only most conducive to physical well- 
being, but, next to the Church, also the most potent conserva- 
tor of morals, give all the encouragement possible to the 
various enterprises that promise to bring the needed relief, 
especially to building associations. 

3. The Promotion of Sunday Rest and Observance. — ^The 
keeping of one day out of seven as a day of rest is not only a 
Divine requirement, but an absolute necessity. Uninter- 
rupted labor soon drains body and mind, unfits one for really 
eflScient service, and deprives fathers of fellowship with their 
families. But Sunday rest is also necessary for spiritual 
reasons. Without it there can be no proper observance of 
the day in the sense of Luther's explanation of the Third 
Commandment: " We should so fear and love God as not 
to despise His Word and the preaching of the Gospel, but 
deem it holy, and willingly hear and learn it." Hence, in 
view of great abuses, this subject has regularly found a 
place on the programs of Inner Mission societies ever since 
the first Inner Mission Congress of 1849. 

4. The Encouragement of Thrift. — In addition to the public 
savings banks, there are throughout Germany about 5000 
penny and school savings funds which offer facilities for 

1 Of such inhabited cellar rooms Greater New York is said to have 25,000. 
According to th e State Tenement House Commissioner's report of 1 90.3 ,2,372,079 
persons, or two-thirds of New York's population, were then living in_ 82,652 
tenements. In these tenement houses were found 350,000 dark interior 
rooms, whose only light and ventilation came from a so-called "air-shaft," 
about 28 inches wide, 50 or 60 feet long, and as high as the building of five or 
six stories. Said air-shaft, the report further states, is often used by the tenants 
"as a receptacle for garbage and all sorts of refuse and indescribable filth 
thrown out of the windows, and this mass of filth is often allowed to remain 
rotting at the bottom of the shaft for weeks without being cleaned out." In 
London over 2,250,000 people are said to live singly or in companies in a single 
room — "sleeping, cooking, eating, bathing, if at all, within the same four 
walls." Conditions in sections of Berlin and other German cities are not 
much better. 



224 FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 

depositing small amounts. Most of these have been es- 
tablished by pastors, teachers, and school authorities, and 
are managed entirely by voluntary agency. Interest is 
allowed, and children are encouraged not to withdraw their 
deposits until they can take them out as a lump sum at their 
majority. In case of protracted illness, accident, or other 
emergency requiring the use of the money, it can be with- 
drawn at any time. Meanwhile the system, while providing 
for just such emergencies, also serves to teach forethought 
and economy. 

The savings and loan funds introduced by Fr. W. Raiff- 
eisen (i 818-1888) serve a somewhat different purpose. 
These are intended for the small farmer and tradesman of 
limited means. Raiffeisen had learned how these in their 
extremity often became the victims of conscienceless usurers. 
To prevent this, and to help all worthy and struggUng ones 
to come to something, was the motive that stirred Raiff- 
eisen to action. The associations originated by him limit 
their operations to a small territory. They receive deposits 
and make loans at a low rate of interest; place all surplus 
earnings in a reserve fund; buy and distribute farm imple- 
ments and other necessaries on the co-operative plan; pay 
a small salary only to the bookkeeper; and thus literally 
fulfil the apostolic injunction to bear one another's burdens. 
On July I, 1906, there were 13,600 such savings and loan 
funds in the German Empire, with deposits amounting to 
1050 million marks. So carefully have the beneficiaries been 
chosen and so skilfully have the funds been managed that 
not one of the associations has ever become bankrupt. 

f. Settlements 

Those who are familiar with conditions in large cities well 
know how in certain localities Jews and Gentiles, Catholics 
and Protestants, believers and unl^cHcvcrs, representing 
among themselves divers nationalities and tongues, arc in- 
discriminately huddled together in dense masses; how entire 



CONFLICT WITH SOCIAL ILLS 22$ 

families are often obliged to live in a single room; how the 
children of these sections learn to know enough of the hard- 
ships of the factory and sweat-shop, and of the temptations 
and vices of the neighborhood, but nothing of the pleasures 
and joys and virtues of a real home; how among these people 
there is often a degree of ignorance and poverty, misery and 
suffering of which the rest and better part of society knows 
nothing; and how, under existing circumstances, they never 
even have the opportunity to learn the art of decent living. 

Among the agencies which the social awakening of recent 
years has set in motion for the betterment of such conditions 
is the Settlement. A Settlement consists primarily of a 
group of educated men and women, who take up their resi- 
dence in the poorer quarters of a city in order to come into 
daily personal contact with the people, and by cooperation 
with them, through various avenues and means, to work out 
individual and social problems for the common good of the 
neighborhood. 

The Settlement is distinctively an English product, and is 
found almost exclusively in the cities of Great Britain and 
the United States. We trace its origin to Oxford University, 
and to two young men, Edward Denison and Arnold Toynbee, 
and upon the early death of these, to the Rev. S. A. Barnett, 
Vicar of St. Jude's, in Whitechapel, London, who maintained 
that " every message to the poor would be in vain did it not 
come expressed in the life of brothermen." In other words, 
this gentleman clearly recognized the principle that the first 
requisite for successful work among London's neglected 
masses was personal contact and personal service. His plan, 
therefore, was to have a group of university men reside 
together and make their home a living center of elevating 
influences. Thus, in 1885, originated the first Settlement, 
known as Toynbee Hall. 

Concerning the principle of personal service, Robert A. 
Woods, sometime resident of Toynbee Hall, and later head 
of Andover House, Boston, says: " Settlements stand dis- 
tinctly for the fact, not before accepted, but now growing 



226 FORMS OF INNER MISSION ACTIVITY 

more and more clear, that social work demands the close, 
continued care of men and women of the best gifts and train- 
ing. They show that if society would start afresh the glow 
in its far-out members, it must bring there the same fulness 
and variety of resource that is needed to keep life glomng 
at the center. They are also the beginning of a better un- 
derstanding of the truth which is confessed, but not believed, 
that where one member suffers all the members suffer mth 
him. In a just view of the case, the massing together of the 
well-to-do over against the poor, neither group knowing how 
the other lives, involves as great evil to the one side as to the 
other." 

Although Settlements are primarily designed to be a social 
rather than a direct religious force, the motive of the work is, 
after all, essentially rehgious. "In no case know^n to the 
writer," says Dr. C. R. Henderson, '' is there a Settlement 
which is hostile or even indifferent to religion." ^ And again: 
*' Perhaps it would be a fair representation of the general 
and dominant thought of the residents that religion must be 
expressed in action and services in order that words may gain 
force and significance. The people are already familiar with 
the ideas of Christianity. But ideas are feeble until they are 
incarnated. Religion is not a separate interest of men, but 
a bond which unites all. The Son of Man came into the 
flesh, and made eternal truth visible and tangible."^ In 
some Settlements, of course, more emphasis is laid on the 
religious element than in others, and a few are distinctly 
denominational. Mansfield House, conducted by the Con- 
gregationalists in East London, for instance, declares: 
" Mansfield House is a University Settlement, founded for 
practical helpfulness, in the spirit of Jesus Christ, in all that 
affects human life. We war, in the Master's name, against 
all evil — selfishness, injustice, vice, disease, starvation, ig- 
norance, ugliness, and squalor; and seek to build up God's 
kingdom in brotherhood, righteousness, purity, health, truth, 
and beauty." Bermondsey Settlement in South London, 

i Social Settlements, p. 173. * Ibid., p. 177. 



CONFLICT WITH SOCIAL ILLS 227 

organized by the Wesleyans, formulates its relation to religion 
as follows: " The whole is dominated and held together by a 
supreme spiritual concern to minister in the spirit of Christ 
to the manifold wants of human nature, and thus to set 
forth, as we see it, the Divine power and the breadth of 
sympathy to be found in Christ. For us the work of evan- 
gelization is the highest and noblest; but so great is it that 
it includes all the faculties, relationships, and conditions 
of human life. Any advance of the kingdom of God must 
fulfil itself in all these. And thus we must soon be seeking 
to build, by our Master's help, an earthly city of God in 
which regenerated individuals may walk. The law of 
Christian service will make all gifts with which men are 
endowed contribute to this end, and it is our business to try 
to lay hold of them for it." And in a report of the Church 
Settlement House, New York, we read: " We are more than 
ever convinced of the futility of presenting religious truth 
to the masses without a practical demonstration of the 
brotherhood of man, and the equal hopelessness of attempted 
social reform based on any other foundation than that of 
the Incarnation." 

Thus the Settlement, while not a missionary force in the 
sense of the Church, is nevertheless a form of service which, 
when thoroughly permeated by the spirit of Christ, is not 
only an active demonstration of brotherly love, but also an 
agency which helps to promote individual and social welfare. 
Viewed in this light, and founded on the principle that the 
Gospel of Jesus Christ is in the end the only satisfactory 
and adequate resolvent of the social problem, the Settlement 
can be added to the other forms of Inner Mission work, as has 
already been done by the Inner Mission Society in Philadel- 
phia. 



228 THE INNER MISSION 



CONCLUSION 



In this sketch of a great and widely ramified movement it 
has been manifestly impossible to give more than a bare out- 
line. For the detailed treatment of its many phases readers 
familiar with the German language are referred to its extensive 
literature on the subject. It is hoped, however, that enough 
has been said in this volume to indicate the general character 
of the Inner Mission, and to show that it is a movement 
which in the soundness of its principles, the comprehensive- 
ness of its work, the intelligent Christian zeal of its personnel, 
and the results achieved is most worthy of study and imita- 
tion. 

To the readers of these pages it should also be evident that 
Germany is to-day not the unbelieving, unchristian country 
that it is in some quarters reputed to be. Because it has 
been the home of Rationalism, and because some university 
professors still make themselves conspicuous by advocating 
heretical views, many are tempted to ask. What good can 
come out of Germany? But a land that still lays such stress 
upon the saving power of the Gospel, that annually publishes 
and circulates such a volume of Christian literature, that has 
such an array of institutions and associations devoted to the 
service of Christian love, such an army of earnest men and 
women as workers in these, and that for their support can 
raise such sums of money mostly in small amounts from the 
many, can surely not be spoken of as a country of universal 
unbelief. " There exists in the German Church at large a 
depth of Christian convictions and positive evangelical 
faith that must convince candid observers that the Gospel 
is a power of the first magnitude in the heart and soul of the 
Germans. In some respects the German Christians are the 
superiors of the Christians of all other countries, especially 
in the intelligent understanding of the great facts, history, 
and teachings of Christianity. This is one of the fruits of 
the educational system of the country, which makes rclig- 



CONCLUSION 229 

ious instruction a necessary element and a most important 
factor in the training of the young. From the kindergarten, 
through the pubHc schools, the high schools, the colleges, up 
to the very door of the university, instruction in Biblical 
history, Catechism, Church history, etc., is one of the leading 
parts of the curriculum. The German Christians are not 
content, as in most cases the American are, to depend for 
the religious training of the children on the instructions of 
one hour weekly only in the Sunday school, and then often 
by incompetent and superficial teachers. Through their 
school training the Germans are thoroughly informed on all 
matters pertaining to Christian faith, and have a most in- 
telligent knowledge of what they as Christians are expected to 
know and to do. . . . The critical views of the theological 
professors do not find permanent lodgment, as a rule, in the 
minds and hearts of the ministers, who find that when they 
are actually to take charge of souls only positive and old- 
fashioned doctrines will do any good. The Christians of 
Germany by their actions are constantly demonstrating the 
fact that they are positive in their creed. The churches of 
the preachers of the evangelical faith are filled with auditors, 
while those of the ' advanced ' men are empty. The people 
flock there where they will receive substantial spiritual food. 
... It is certain that there are many thousands es- 
tranged from the Church, especially in the large cities and 
under the influence of the Social Democrats, but it is doubtful 
if the churchless masses in Germany are numerically stronger 
than they are in some other Protestant lands, such as England 
and America. ... But aside from this unruly element, 
German Protestantism is positive to the core. Luther's 
translation of the Bible, his Catechism, the magnificent 
hymns that constitute such a grand treasury of the Church, 
its ascetic literature, such as Arndt's True Christianity 
and other noble inheritances from the days of faith and 
struggle, have a hold on the German heart, and are such 
powerful agents in its education that the fleeting notions of a 
passing phase of antichristian philosophy or theology cannot 



230 THE INNER MISSION 

uproot an oak that the Spirit of God planted nearly four 
centuries ago, and has been faithfully protecting all these 
years." ^ 

In the Lutheran Church of America the Inner Mission 
movement is now likewise going forward with increasing 
momentum, and it asks to be placed on the same plane as 
other beneficent agencies within the Church. It would be 
to the Family, the Church, and the State what it has been and 
is in Continental Europe. It would enlist the active sym- 
pathy and cooperation of pastors on the one hand, and the 
labors, prayers, and material support of our believing people 
on the other. It would come into direct contact with those 
whose spiritual and physical needs only Christian love can 
adequately relieve, demonstrate to them that Christ still 
lives in His people, and thus bridge over the chasm which 
to-day separates so many from the Church. In a word, the 
Inner Mission would so faithfully use and apply the Word, and 
make Christianity so living and concrete, as to prove to all 
men that the Church is not only " the pillar and ground of 
the truth " (i Tim. 3 : 15), but also the assembly of those 
*' created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath 
before ordained that we should walk in them" (Eph. 2 : 10). 

» Schodde: The Protestant Church in Germany, pp. 4i> 43. 44- 



APPENDIX A 



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APPENDIX A 



235 



II. Fields of Deaconess' Labor 

In the spring of 1910, 17,947 sisters connected with the 84 Motherhouses 
of the Kaiserswerth Union were employed as follows: 



I. 

II. 
III. 
IV. 

V. 
VI. 

VII. 

VIII. 

IX. 

X. 

XI. 

XII. 

XIII. 



Fields of Labor. 



Hospitals 

Sanatoriums 

Homes for the Aged and Infirm 

Institutions for the Crippled, Blind, and Deaf 

mutes 

Institutions for Idiots and Epileptics 

Parish Diaconate 

Training Homes and Schools 

Little Children's Schools 

Day Nurseries 

Institutions for Domestics, etc 

Institutions for Neglected Children 

Magdalen and Temporary Homes 

Miscellaneous 



7216 



No. 


Sisters. 


1115 
155 
460 


7286 

365 
1013 


33 

57 

3454 

202 


137 

502 

5486 

521 


1117 


1216 


154 
77 
78 
62 


250 
184 
169 
318 


252 


500 



17.947- 



* The 'apparent inconsistency between these figures and those in Table I, 
is due to the fact that here only the number of sisters in active service is 
given. As regards the forms of service, 9303, or 51.8 per cent., were in the 
spring of 1910 engaged in institutions for the sick and defective; 5486, or 
30.6 per cent., in parish work; 2658, or 14.8 per cent., in child-saving and 
other institutions of an educational character; and 500, or 2.8 per cent., in 
miscellaneous work. 



236 



APPENDIX A 



III. German Diakonenhauser 
January i, 1910 



No. 



Name. 



Rauhes Haus 

Duisburg 

Ziillchow 

Lindenhof 

Johannesstift 

Stephansstift 

Moritzburg 

Karlshohe 

Nazareth 

Kraschnitz 

Karlshof 

Eckartshaus 

Rummelsberg 

Tannenhof 

Zoar 

Treysa 

Rickling Vicelinstift 



Founded. 


Location. 


1833 


Hamburg. 


1844 


Rhine Province. 


1850 


Stettin. 


1850 


Neinstedt. 


1858 


Berlin. 


1869 


Hanover, 


1872 


Saxony, 


1876 


Ludwigsburg. 


1877 


Bielefeld. 


1881 


Silesia. 


1883 


Rastenberg, East Prussia, 


1888 


Eckartsberga, Thuringia, 


1890 


Nuremberg. 


1896 


Liittringhausen, Rhine Province. 


1898 { 


Rothenburg, Upper Lusatia; at 


Danzig since 1907. 


1901 


Hessen-Nassau. 


1906 


Schleswig. 



On the ist of January, 1910, the total number of Diakonen con- 
nected with these 17 houses was 3095, employed as follows: As city 
missionaries, 145 ; in parish and evangelistic work, 199 ; as secretaries 
and agents, and in the cause of temperance and youth, 96 ; as mission- 
aries to seamen, rivermen, waiters, emigrants, and soldiers, 37 ; as pastors 
in America, 53 ; as teachers, 59 ; as housefathers in rescue and orphans* 
homes, 228 ; as housefathers in institutions for confirmed, 53 ; as house- 
fathers in inebriate asylums, 16 ; as housefathers in Herhergen, associa- 
tion houses, and relief stations, 293 ; as housefathers in labor colonies, 
35 ; as housefathers in homes for the aged and infirm, 86 ; as care-takers 
of idiots, epileptics, and insane, 104 ; as care-takers of deaf-mutes, 
crippled, and blind, 8 ; as housefathers and nurses in general hospitals, 
120; as ambulatory nurses, 31 ; as colporteurs, collecting agents, and 
overseers in prisons, 17 ; in various other capacities, 973 ; in training, 
542. 



APPENDIX B 



237 



APPENDIX B 

Lutheran Inner Mission Institutions in the United States 

Tects list is believed to be as nearly correct and complete as it has 
been possible to make it. If any institutions have been omitted, or if 
dates and locations are incorrectly given, it is due to the fact that in 
some cases repeated inquiries failed to elicit an answer. 

I. Deaconess Motherhouses 
(Spring, 1 910) 



No. 


Name and Location of Motherhouse. 


T3 

1 
1 


a 



!2 





■ft 

3 

2 

2 

10 

6 

I 

15 

6 

I 

I 
44 


a 
H° 

75 

19 

40 

47 
45 

34 

64 

27 
4 

2 
357 


•0 

a 

.213 


I 
2 


Philadelphia, Pa.— Mary J. Drexel 
Home and Philadelphia Motherhouse 
of Deaconesses, 2100 S. College Ave. . . 

Brooklyn, N. Y. — Norwegian Lutheran 
Deaconess Home and Hospital, 4th 
Ave. and 46th Street 


1S84 

1885 
1889 
1890 
1893* 

1895 

1897 

1902 
1905 

1909 


56 

I 
14 
30 
27 

17 

17 
9 

I 


17 

16 
16 
II 
17 

17 

32 
12 

3 


73 

17 
30 
41 
44 

34 

49 

21 
3 

I 


16 


3 
4 
5 
6 


Minneapolis, Minn. — Norwegian Dea- 
coness Institute, 2312 15th Ave., S. .. 

Omaha, Neb. — Immanuel Deaconess In- 
stitute, 34th Street and Meredith Ave. 

Milwaukee, Wis.— Lutheran Deaconess 
Motherhouse, 23d and Cedar Streets.. 

Baltimore, Md. — Lutheran Deaconess 
Motherhouse of the General Synod, 
2600 W. North Ave 


6 

14 
8 

6 


7 


Chicago, 111.— Norwegian Lutheran 
Deaconess Home and Hospital, 1138 
N. Leavitt Street. - 


18 


8 

9 
10 


St. Paul, Minn.— Bethesda Deaconess 
Home and Hospital, 254 E. loth Street. 

Brush, Colo. — Ebenezer Mercy Institute. 

Sioux City, la.— St. John's Hospital and 
Lutheran Deaconess Home, 14th and 
James Streets 


7 
3 

I 










Total 




172 


141 


3^3 


8t 











1849. 



* Reorganization of the work begun by Dr. Passavant at Pittsburgh in 



23S 



Appendix b 



Fields of Labor of the Lutheran Deaconesses in America 
(Spring, 19 10) 

1. Parish Work (Parishes) -. 26 

2. Hospitals 22 

3. Orphans' Homes 7 

4. Homes for the Aged 10 

5. Homes for Invalids 2 

6. Home for Epileptics i 

7. Institutions for the Treatment of Tuberculosis 2 

8. Setdement Work i 

9. District Nursing 2 

10. Immigrant Mission, N. Y i 

11. Woman's Home (Hospice) i 

12. Girls' School i 

13. Kindergartens 8 

14. Training-schools for Kindergarten Teachers 3 

15. Matron Ladies' Hall (CoUege) i 

16. Foreign Mission Field — 

China 3 

Madagascar 2 

II. Orphans' Homes 



No. 

I 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 

7 
8 

9 

10 
II 
12 

13 

14 
15 
16 

17 
18 

19 
20 
21 
22 

23 
24 
25 
26 

27 
28 
29 



Name. 



Found 
ed. 



Location. 



Emmaus 

Home and Farm School.. 

Lutheran 

Lutheran 

Lutheran 

St. John's 

Swedish 

Wartburg 

Swedish 

Child Jesus 

Tressler 

Uhlich 

Martin Luther 

Lutheran 

Wernle 

Swedish 

Bethlehem 

Swedish 

Homme's 

Loats' for Girls 

Concordia 

Evangelical Lutheran 

Danish 

Gustavus Adolphus 

Bethlehem 

Tabitha 

IvUthcran 

Martin Luther 

Children's Mission Home 



1806 
1852 

1859 
i860 
1863 
1864 
1865 
1866 
1867 
1867 
1868 
1869 

1871 

1873 
1879 
1880 
1881 
1881 
1881 
1882 
1883 
1883 

1884 
1885 
1886 
1887 

1888 
1889 
1890 



Middletown, Pa. 

Zelienople, Pa. 

6950 Germantown Ave., Phila., Pa. 

Toledo, Ohio. 

Waverly, la. 

Sulphur Springs, Buffalo, N. Y. 

Vasa, Minn. 

Mt. Vernon, N. Y. 

Andover, 111. 

Des Peres, Mo. 

Loysville, Pa. 

Center and Burling Sts., Chicago, 

Illinois. 
West Ro.xbury, Mass. 
Addison, 111. 
Richmond, Ind. 
Cleburne, Kan. 

5413 N. Peters St., New Orleans, 
Stanton, la. [La. 

Wittenberg, Wis. 
Frederick, Md. 
Marwood, Pa. 
E. Washington and LaSalle Sts., 

Indianapolis, Ind. 
3320 Evergreen Ave., Chicago, 111. 
Jamestown, N. Y. 
College Point, N. Y. 
45th and Randolph Sts., Lincoln, 

Nebraska, 
Salem, Va. 
Stoughton, Wis. 
Knoxville, Tenn. 



APPENDIX B 



239 



No. 



Name. 



Found- 
ed. 



Location. 



United Norwegian 

Swedish 

Martha and Mary 

Elim Danish 

German Lutheran 

Augsburg 

St. John's 

Mrs. Elizabeth Hershey. . . 

Bethany Danish 

Lutheran 

St. Peter's 

United Norwegian 

Bethesda 

Lutheran 

Bethesda 

Wnd Rice 

Norwegian 

Immanuel 

Parkland 

Lutheran 

Oesterlen 

Children's Friend 

Swedish 

Danish 

Good Shepherd for Infants, 

Danish 

Dr. Martin Luther 



1890 
1891 
1891 
1892 
1892 
1892 

1893 

1894 

1895 
1896 
1897 
1897 
1897 
1898 
1898 
1898 
1899 
1901 

1902 
1904 
1904 
1904 
1906 
1908 
1908 
1908 
? 



Beliot, la. 

Joliet, lU. 

Paulsbo, Wash. 

Elkhorn, Ind. 

Fremont, Neb. 

746 W. Lexington St., Baltimore, 

Maryland. 
Mars, Pa. 
Muscatine, la. 
Waupaca, Wis. 
Topton, Pa. 

Robinson Road, Allegheny, Pa. 
Lake Park, Minn. 
Beresford, S. Dak. 
Belle Plaine, Minn. 
Willmar, Minn. 
Twin Valley, Minn. 
Edison Park, Chicago, 111. 
Fowler Ave. and 34th St., Omaha, 

Nebraska. 
Parkland, Wash. 
Nachusa, 111. 
Springfield, Ohio. 
Jersey City, N. J. 
Avon, Mass. 
Tyler, Minn. 
Allentown, Pa. 

56 State St., Perth Amboy, N. J. 
San Francisco, Cal. 



III. Home Finding Societies 
The Amerikanlscher Kalender for 191 1, published at St. Louis, gives 
a list of thirteen Home Finding {Kinder freimd) Societies, all of them 
connected with the Synodical Conference, and in their operations cov- 
ering practically the entire territory of said large body. Nearly all of 
them have temporary homes for the care of children until they can be 
placed in suitable families. 

IV. Old People's Homes 



No. 


Name. 


Found- 
ed. 


Location. 






1876 
1881 
1887 

1889 
1890 
1891 
1892 
1892 


6950 Germantown Ave., Phila., Pa. 
2958 Fulton St., Brooklyn. 
Wittenberg, Wis. 
4Sth and Randolph Sts., Lincoln, 

Nebraska. 
2100 S. College Ave., Phila., Pa. 
Washington, D. C. 


2 

3 
4 


Wartburg. 

Homme's 


Tabitha . 


5 


Mary J. Drexel 


6 


National 


7 




8 




Arlington Heights, 111. 

746 W. Lexington St., Baltimore. 


9 







240 



APPENDIX B 



No. 

lo 
II 

12 
13 

14 
15 
16 

17 

18 

19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
27 
28 
29 
30 
31 
32 



Name. 



St. John's 

Mrs. Elizabeth Hershey 

Norwegian 

Lutheran 

Bethesda 

Lutheran 

Marie Louise Heins . . . 

Norvv'-egian 

St. John's 

Danish 

Nazareth 

Bethesda 

Salem 

Lutheran 

Swedish 

Feghtly 

Lutheran 

Lutheran 

Swedish 

Lutheran 

Lutheran 

Good Shepherd 

Swedish Augustana 



Found- 
ed. 



1893 
1894 
1896 
1896 



1S98 
1899 
1899 
1901 
1902 
1903 
1904 

1905 
1906 
1906 
1906 
1906 
1906 
1907 
1907 
1907 
1908 
1908 



Location. 



Mars, Pa. 

Muscatine, Iowa. 

Norwood Park, Chicago, 111. 

217 E. Delavan Ave., Buffalo, 

New York. 
Willmar, Minn. 
Belle Plaine, Minn. 
Mt. Vernon, N. Y. 
Stoughton, Wis. 
Springfield, Minn. 
Walnut and Clerendon Sts., Chi- 
Omaha, Neb. {cago.^ 

Chisago City, Minn. 
Joliet, 111. 
Toledo, Ohio. 
Madrid, Iowa. 
Tippecanoe City, Ohio. 
Erie, Pa. 
Wauwatosa, Wis. 
Lindsborg, Kan. 
Zelienople, Pa. 

1906 Lafayette Ave., St. Louis, Mo. 
Allentown, Pa. 
Brooklyn, N. Y. 





V 


. Hospitals 


No. 


Name. 


Found- 
ed. 


Location. 


I 


Passavant 


1849 
1863 

1865 
1878 

1880 

1881 

1882 
1885 

1889 
1889 

1890 

1891 

1894 
1896 
1896 


Roberts and Reed- Sts., Pittsburgh, 


2 


Milwaukee 


Penna. 
2 2d and Cedar Sts., Milwaukee, 


3 
4 




Wisconsin. 
192 E. Superior St., Chicago, 111. 
Ohio and Potomac Sts., St. Louis, 


Lutheran 


5 
6 


Bethesda 


Missouri. 
Wacouta and loth Sts., St. Paul, 


Lutheran 


Minn. 
East New York Ave. and Powell 


7 
8 


Augustana 


Street, Brooklyn, N. Y. 

2043 Cleveland Ave., Chicago, 111. 

4th Ave. and 46th St., Brooklyn, 
N. Y. 

2100 S. College Ave., Phila., Pa. 

14th and N. Sts., N. W., Washing- 
ton, D. C. 

34th and Meredith Ave., Omaha, 
Nebraska. 

iSth Ave. and E. 2-^d St., Minne- 




9 
10 

II 


Children's, Mary J. Drexel. 
Eye, Ear, and Throat 

Immanuel 






13 
14. 


Tabitha 


apolis, Minn. 
Humboldt Park, Chicago, 111. 


St. Olaf's 


Austin, Minn. 


IS 


St. John's 


McClure Ave., Allegheny, Pa. 





APPENDIX B 



241 



Name. 



Lutheran 

Norwegian , 

Springfield , 

Bethesda 

Grand Forks 

German Lutheran 

St. John's 

Ebenezer 

La Crosse 

Northwood , 

Grafton 

St. Luke's 

Lutheran 

Lutheran 

St. Luke's 

Immanuel , 

Northwestern , 

Good Samaritan 

German Lutheran 

Luther 

Tabitha 

Lutheran 

St. John's 

Fairview , 

For Consumptives. 
Ebenezer Sanitarium... 

Evang. Lutheran 

Kensington Dispensary 

Swedish Lutheran 

The Thomas 



Found 
ed. 



1896 

1897 
1897 

1898 
1899 
1899 

1901 
1901 
1902 

1902 
1903 
1903 
1904 

1904 

190S 
1906 
1906 
1906 
1907 
1907 
1907 

1908 
1909 

1910 



1903 
1905 
1905 

1908 
1908 



Location. 



2609 Franklin Ave., Cleveland, 

Ohio. 
1 138 N. Leavitt St., Chicago, 111. 
W. Grand Ave. and 5th St., Spring- 
field, Illinois. 
104 St. Paul St., Crookston, Minn. 
Grand Forks, N. D. 
27th and Pierce Sts., Sioux City, 

Iowa. 
Springfield, Minn. 
Madison, Minn. 
13th and Badger Sts., La Crosse, 

Wisconsin. 
Northwood, N. D. 
Grafton, N. D. 
Fergus Falls, Minn. 
3020 Fairfield Ave., Fort Wayne, 

Indiana. 
Granite City, 111, 
Fargo, N. D. 
Mankato, Minn. 
Moorehead, Minn. 
Rugby, N. D. 

225 Prescott St., St. Paul, Minn. 
Eau Claire, Wis. 
4Sth and Randolph Sts., Lincoln, 

Nebraska. 
Bay City, Mich. 
i4lii and James Sts., Sioux City, 

Iowa. 
6th St. and 24th Ave., Minneapolis, 

Minn. 

Brush, Colo. 

Edgewater, near Denver, Colo. 

Susquehanna Ave. and Hancock 

St., Phila., Pa. 
Englewood, near Denver, Colo. 
6th St. and 24th Ave., Minneapolis, 

Minn. 





VI. Institutions 


FOR Defectives 


No. 


Name. 


Found- 
ed. 


Location. 


I 


Institution for Deaf-mute 
Children. 


1873 
1895 
1904 
1908 


North Detroit, Mich. 


2 


Passavant Memorial Homes 
for Epileptics 


Rochester, Pa. 


3 


Home for Feeble-minded 
and Epileptics 


Milwaukee, Wis. 


4 


Good Shepherd Home for 
Crippled Orphans 


Allentown, Pa. 



242 



APPENDIX B 





VII. Immigrant 


AND Seamen's Missions 


No. 


Name. 


Found- 
ed. 


Location. 


I 


Immigrant. 
Scandinavian . . . . 


1867 
1869 
1880 
1884 
1895 

1879 

1887 
1887 

1890 

1907 
1909 

1878 
1902 


8 State St.. New York 






4 State St., New York. 


3 

4 
5 

6 


German . 


3020 E. Baltimove Ave., Baltimore. 
8 State St., New York. 
5 Water St., New York. 

Ill Pioneer St., BrooUyn, N. Y. 

172 Carrol St., Brooklyn, N. Y. 
529-531 Clinton St., Brooklyn, 

New York. 
544 Harrison St., San Francisco, 

California. 
64 Hudson St., Hoboken, N. J. 
1402 Moyamensing Ave., Phila., 

Penna. 

193-195 9th St., Brooklyn, N. Y. 
II Henry St., Boston, Mass. 


Lutheran Pilgrim House.. . 


Seamen's. 
Norwegian Seamen's 
Church 


7 

8 


Scandinavian Sailor's 

Temperance Home 

Finnish 


9 


Scandinavian 


Seamen's Home 


II 


Seamen's Home . 


T? 


Immigrant and Seamen's 
Danish 


13 







VIII. Hospices 



No. 


Name. 


Found- 
ed. 


Location. 


I 




1905 
1907 

1907 
1908 
1909 

? 


157 N. 20th St., Phila., Pa. 

826 6th St. South, Minneapolis, 

Minnesota. 
1906 Lafayette Ave., St. Louis, Mo. 
1505 La Salle Ave., Chicago, 111. 
1346 La Salle Ave., Chicago, 111. 

130 Prospect Ave., Brookl}^, N. Y. 


2 

3 
4 

5 
6 


Lutheran for Women 

Lutheran 


Immanuel for Women 

Augustana Central Home ... 

Young Women's Danish 

Lutheran Home 





IX. ] 


Miscellaneous 


No. 


Name. 


Found- 
ed. 


Location. 


I 
2 


Lankenau School for Girls. . 
Samaritan Shelter for 


1890 
1895 

1898 
1902 


Mary J. Drexel Home, Phila., Pa. 
411-413 N. 4th St., Phila., Pa. 

Graves and Beach, Brooklyn, N. Y. 


3 


German Home for Recre- 
ation of Women and 
Children . . 


4 


Training-school for Chris- 
tian Kindergartners 


Mary J. Drexel Home, Phila., Pa. 



APPENDIX B 



243 



No. 


Name. 


Found- 
ed. 


Location. 


S 
6 


Christian Settlement 

Tabor Home for Neglected 
Children 


1905 

1906 
1908 

1908 

1909 


Front St. and Girard Ave., Phila., 
Penna. 

113 E. Wyoming Ave., Phila., Pa. 

2ist St. bet. Cedar and State, Mil- 


7 


Layton Home for Incur- 
ables 


8 
9 


Training-school for Chris- 
tian Kindergartners 

Bethany Home for Work- 


waukee, Wis. 

Deaconess Motherhouse, Mil- 
waukee, Wis. 

8th and Pine Sts., St. Paul, Minn. 









In a number of cities congregations maintain Christian kindergar- 
tens conducted by parish deaconesses or by kindergartners trained by 
the Philadelphia and Milwaukee Motherhouses. 



X. Inner Mission Societies and City Missions 

1. Inner Mission Societies are active in Philadelphia, New York, Pitts- 
burgh, Chicago, and Minneapolis. 

2. City Missions are maintained in Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, 
St. Louis, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Minneapolis, Buffalo, Toledo, and 
Brooklyn. 

3. The Lutheran Church Book and Literature Society, with headquarters 
in Philadelphia, has for its object " the distribution of the Church Book, and 
the dissemination of other Lutheran literature.'' 



344 BIBLIOGRAPHV 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 

German 

Mention is here made of only a few of the most important works. For 
literature covering in detail the contents of the present volume the reader is 
referred to the very full list of publications at the close of Schafer's Leitfaden, 
4th ed., 1903. 

WiCHERN, J. H. : Die Innere Mission der deutschen evangelischen Kirche. < 
Denkschrift. 3d ed. Hamburg, 1889. 

Vortrage und Abhandlungen. Herausgegeben von J. Wichern und 

F. Oldenburg. Hamburg, 1891. 

Gesammelte Schriften: Vols. I and II, Briefe und Tagebuchblatter; 
Vol. Ill, Prinzipielles zur Inneren Mission; Vol. IV, Zur Gefangniss-Reform; 
Vols. V and VI, Zur Erziehungs- und Rettungshausarbeit. Hamburg, 1901- 
1907. 

Schafer, Th.: Leitfaden der Inneren Mission. 4th ed. Hamburg, 1903. 

Diakonik. In Zockler's Handbuch der theologischen Wissenschaften, 

Vol. IV. 3d ed. Nordlingen, 1890. 

Mission, Innere: In Handworterbuch der Staats wissenschaften. 

Jena, 1900. 

Die Innere Mission in der Schule. 6th ed. Giitersloh, 1905. 

Praktisches Christentum. Vortrage aus der Inneren Mission. 5 

vols. Giitersloh, 1888-1909. 

Die weibliche Diakonie in ihrem ganzen Umfang dargestellt. Vol. I, 

Die Geschichte der weiblichen Diakonie; Vol. II, Die Arbeit der weiblichen 
Diakonie; Vol. Ill, Die Diakonissin und das Mutterhaus. ist ed. Stutt- 
gart, 1887-1894. (3d ed., revised to date, now appearing, Potsdam.) 

Im Dienst der Liebe. Skizzen zur Diakonissensache. 3d ed. 

Giitersloh, 1909. 

Johann Hinrich Wichern. Sein Leben und seine bleibende Bedeu- 

tung. Giitersloh, 1908. 

Kalender der Inneren Mission. Giitersloh, 1897. 

Lehmann, E. G.: Die Werke der Liebe. 2d ed. Leipzig, 1883. 

Uhlhorn, Gerhard: Die christliche Liebestatigkeit. Vol. I (In dor 
alten Kirche), 1882. Vol. II (Im Mittelalter), 1884. Vol. Ill (Seit der Refor- 
mation). Stuttgart, 1890. Second, improved ed. in one volume without 
notes. 

Dalhoff, N.: Die christliche Liebestatigkeit. Eine Anlcitung zum 
praktischen Christentum. (Translated from the Danish.) Giitersloh. 

Reimpell, Jon. Chr.: Geschichte der Inneren Mission dcs neunzehnten 
Jahrhunderts in der evangelischen Kirche Deulschlands. Hcgun in Vol. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 245 

XXIII (Aug. 1903) of Schafer's Monatsschrift, continued since then, but not 
completed. 

WuRSTER, Paul: Die Lehre von der Inneren Mission. Berlin, 1895. 

WuRSTER, Paul und Hennig, Martin: Was Jedermann heute von der 
Inneren Mission wissen muss. Stuttgart. 

Hennig, Martin: Taten Jesu in unseren Tagen. Skizzen und Bilder 
aus der Arbeit der Inneren und Ausseren Mission. Hamburg, 1905. 

Dr. Joh. Hinr. Wicherns Lebenswerk in seiner Bedeutung flir das 

deutsche Volk. Hamburg, 1908. 

Karig, Paul: Komm und siehe es. Bilder aus der Inneren Mission. 
Eisleben, 1904. 

Ostertag: Werkstatten evangelischer Liebesthatigkeit. Miinchen, 1895. 

Wacker, Emil: Der Diakonissenberuf nach seiner Vergangenheit und 
Gegenwart. Giitersloh, 1890. 

Statistik der Inneren Mission der deutschen evang. Kirche. 
Berlin, 1899. 

All of the foregoing can be obtained of the Pilger Publishing House, 
Reading, Pa., or the Wartburg Publishing House, 378 Wabash Ave., Chicago, 
111. 

Periodicals. 

Monatsschrift fur Innere Mission: Formerly edited by Dr. Th. 
Schafer, now by Pastor Martin Ulbrich. Giitersloh. $2.00. 

Die Innere Mission im evangelischen Deutschland. Hamburg. 
Si. 50. Organ of the Central Committee, Berlin. 

English. 

Paton, J. B.: The Inner Mission of Germany, 1885. 

Stevenson, W. F.: Praying and Working, 1892. 

Both of these deal only with the early history of the movement. 

Wenner, G. W. : The Inner Mission of Germany. (Evangehcal Alliance, 
Chicago, 1893.) 

Henderson, C. R.: The German Inner Mission. {American Journal oj 
Sociology, March, May, July, 1896.) 

Sutter, Julie: A Colony of Mercy. London, 3d ed., 1904. 

Cities and Citizens. London, 1901. This contains an excellent 

presentation of the Elberfeld system of poor relief. 

Pfeeffer, E.: Mission Studies. Columbus, Ohio, 1908. 

Uhlhorn, Gerhard: Christian Charity in the Ancient Church. New 
York, 1883. 

Wacker, Emil: The Deaconess Calling. Trans, by E. A. Endlich. 
Mary J. Drexel Home, Philadelphia, 1893. 

Gerberding, G. H. : Life and Letters of W. A. Passavant, D. D. Young 
Lutheran Co., Greenville, Pa., 1906. 

Batt, J. H.: Dr. Barnardo: The Foster-father of Nobody's Children. 
London, 1905. 



246 BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Articles in the Lutheran Cyclopedia, the Schaff-Herzog Encyclopadia, and 

the Encyclopedia of Missions. 

For Collateral Reading. 

The following books will be found to contain much valuable information 
and many stimulating suggestions, though the reader, like the author of this 
volume, may not* always agree with the writers. 

Correction and Prevention. Four volumes, edited by Dr. Charles Rich- 
mond Henderson. Vol. I, Prison Reform; Vol. II, Penal and Reformatory 
Institutions; Vol. Ill, Preventive Agencies and Methods, by Dr. Henderson; 
Vol. IV, Preventive Treatment of Neglected Children, by Dr. Hastings H. 
Hart. Charities Publication Committee, New York. Per volume, $2.50; 
per set, $10.00. 

Grose, H. B.: Aliens or Americans? Young People's Missionary Move- 
ment Series, New York. 50 cents. 

Henderson, C. R.: Modern Methods of Charity. The Macmillan Co., 
New York. $3.50. 

Dependent, Defective, and Delinquent Children. Heath, Boston. 

$1.50. 

Social Settlements. A. Wessels, New York. 60 cents. 

Peabody, F. G.: Jesus Christ and the Social Question. The Macmillan 
Co., New York. $1.50. 

Richmond, Mary E. : Friendly Visiting Among the Poor. The Macmillan 
Co., New York. $1.00. 

The Good Neighbor. J. B. Lippincott Co., Philadelphia. 60 cents. 

Rns, J. A.: How the Other Half Lives. Charles Scribner's Sons, New 
York. $1.25. 

The Children of the Poor. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York. 

Children of the Tenements. Macmillan Co., New York. 

The Battle with the Slum. Macmillan Co., New York. 

The Peril and Preservation of the Home. G. W. Jacobs, Philadel- 
phia. $1.00. 

Strong, Joslah: The New Era. The Baker and Taylor Co., New York. 
75 cents. 

Our Country. The Baker and Taylor Co., New York. 60 cents. 

The Challenge of the City. Young People's Missionary Movement 

Series. New York. 50 cents. 

The Poor in Great Cities. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York. 

The Social Evil. Report of Committee of Fifteen. Putnam's, New 
York. $1.25. 

Warner, A. G.: American Chanties. Thos. Y. Crowcll & Co., New 
York. $1.75. 

Wines, F. H.: Punishment and Reformation. Thos. Y. Crowell & Co., 
New York. $1.75. 



INDEX 



Adult probation, igi 

Aged and infirm, 203 

Almanacs, 129 

Ambrose, 43 

American Bible societies, 126 

American Prison Association, 186 

Apostolic Constitutions, quoted, 89, 

114 
Aristotle, quoted, 35 
Art societies, 133 
Association of War Nurses, 222 
Associations, 99 ff. 
Auburn system, 188 
Augustine, 43 

Barnardo, Dr. T. J., 80 fif. 

Bamett, A. A., 225 

Barth, Ch. G., 78 

Basel Bible Society, 55 

Basel Missionary Society, 55 

Basil the Great, 43, 193 

Bauer, Wilhelm, 79 

Beck, M. E., 133 

Beghards, 46 

Beguines, 46 

Benecke, Dr., 203 

Bennett, C. W., quoted, 39, 40, 42, 

87 
Berlin City Mission, 77, 118 ff., 128 
Bermondsey Settlement, 226 
Beuggen, 55, 168 
Bible societies, 55, 125 ff. 
Bibliography, 244 
Bielefeld, 76, 198, 216 
Bingham, T. A., article by, 173 
Bion, Pastor, 203 
Bissing, Baron von, 137 
Blankenburger Konferenz, in 
Blind, 19s 
Blue Cross Society, 180 



Blumhard, Pastor, 203 

Bodelschwingh, Pastor von, 76, 162, 
198, 202, 216 

Bohme, Amanda, 68 

Boltzius, J. M., 51 

Bost, Pastor, 196 

Brace, Chas. Loring, 147 

Braille system, 196 

Bram, Andreas, 147 

Braun, Supt., 175 

Brethren and Sisters of the Com- 
mon Life, 46 

British and Foreign Bible Society, 
125 

Brockehnann, W., 141 

Bruckner, B. B., quoted, 18 

Bruderhauser, 66, 91 

Bunsen, Baron von, 62, 132 

Burkhardt, Pastor, 155 

Biittner, J. S., 79 



Callenberg, J. H., 51 
Canal and railroad laborers, 166 
Canstein, Baron von, 51, 52 
Canstein Bible Institution, 50, 51, 

125 
Central Committee, 11, 68, 100 
Chalmers, Thos., 62, 215 
Charity of first Christians, 33-41 
Charity organization societies, 214 
Charlemagne, 46 
Charles, Thos., 126 
Children, care and training of, 133- 

150 

Children, institutional care of de- 
pendent, 144; placing-out sys- 
tem, 145; conclusions of Wash- 
ington Conference, 148 

Children's aid societies, 147, 148 

247 



248 



INDEX 



Children's Aid Society of New 

York, 144, 147 
Children, invalid, 203 
Christian art societies, 133 
Christian inns for men, 161; for 

women, 177, 219 
Christian kindergarten, 136 
Christian literature, circulation of, 

129 
Christianity Society, 54 
Chrysostom, 43, 208 
Church orders and their provisions, 

48 ff., 140 
City conditions, iii, 116 ff. 
City congregations, 120 
City missions, 116 ff., Lutheran, in 

the United States, 119, 243 
Committee of Fifteen, 1 74 
Congregational charity, 35 ff. 
Conolly, Dr. J., 201 
Constantinople, church at, 43, 208 
Country conditions, 113 
Craig Colony for Epileptics, 199 
Criminals, habitual, 190 
Cripples, 196 
Cyprian, 41 



Darmst'ddter Allg. Kirchenzeitung, 

20 
Day nurseries, 134 
Deaconess houses in Kaiserswerth 

Union, 231; in the U. S., 237; 

fields of labor, 235 
Deaconess ordination prayer, 89 
Deaconesses in hospitals, 193 
Deacons and deaconesses as war 

nurses, 221 
Deaf-mutes, 195 
Defectives, 192-204 
Deinzer, J., 79 
Delinquents, 167-191 
Denison, Edward, 225 
Denkschrift, 11, 12, 68, loi, 108, 

109, 112, 160, 187 
Depot missions, 155 
Diaconate, 86; modern male, 91 

fF.; modern female, 93 II. 
Diakonenhf'iuser, 66, 91 
Diaspora missions, 156 
Diesterweg, F. A. D., 20 



Disselhofif, Julius, 79, 200 

Dissemination of the Scriptures, 
125 

Dix, Dorothea L., 202 

Domestics, schools for, 150; shel- 
ters for, 152 

Dunant, Dr. Henri, 221 

Duty of pastors, 123, 175 



Ecclesiastical embroidery, 133 
Eisenacher Bund, 11 1 
Elberfeld system, 214 
Emigrant missions, 157 
Encouragement of thrift, 223 
Enfeebled and convalescent, the, 

202 
Ephraim, 43 
Epileptics, 197 
Erziehungsvereine, 147 
Eusebius, 38 
Evangelical workingmen's socie- 

ries, 222 
Evangelists, no 
Evangelization, 108 



Fabrikarbeiterinnenheime, 152 

Falk, J., 58, 132, 168 

Fliedner, Theo., 62, 69-73, 93, 137, 

151, 152, 176, 184, 186, 193, 202 
Fluss-schiffer-mission, 165 
Francke, A. H., 50, 132, 141, 146 
Francke institutions, 51, 146 
Franklin, Benj., 186 
Franklin Home, 183 
Fratienheime, 177, 219 
Frederick William IV., 62, 78, 187 
Fritschel, S., quoted, 74 
Frobel kindergarten, 137 
Frohlich, J. K. H., 79 
Fry, Elizabeth, 61, 70, 183 



Gemdndcpjlcgc 36, 49, 207 
Gemcmschaftsbcivcgung, in 
Geneva Convention, 221 
German Bible societies, 1 25 flf. 
Girls' homes, 152 
Glasgow City Mission, 117 
Gnadaucr Konfcrcnz, in 



INDEX 



249 



Goodchild, F. M., quoted, 172, 174 
Good Shepherd Home, 197 
Good Templars, 178, 180 
Gossner, J., 78 
Gothenburg system, 181 
Gotteskasten, 159 
Gregory the Great, 43 
Gronau, I. C, 51 
Grossmann, C, G. L., 156 
Guggenbiihl, Dr. L,, 200 
Gustav- Adolf Society, 156 
Guthrie, Thos., 80, 169 



Halle (Francke) institutions, 51, 

146 
Hamburg City Mission, 118 
Hanna, Wm., quoted, 62 
Harms, Claus, 20 
Harms, Ludwig, 105 
Harter, F. H., 78 
Hatch, Edwin, quoted, 114 
Hauge, H. N., 63 
Haiiy, Val., 195 
Heathenism, 33, 34, 35 
Heinersdorf, Pastor, 219 
Heinicke, Samuel, 195 
Heldring, Otto G., 79, 176 
Helmuth, J. C. H., 186 
Henderson, C. R., quoted, 226 
Hennig, M., quoted, 164 
Berber gen zur Heimath, 161 
Heydt, Daniel von der, 215 
Hill, Dr. R. G., 201 
Hollands ganger, 166 
Home mission problem, 124 
Homes for factory girls, 152 
Hospices, 163 
Hospital Brethren, 45 
Hospital Sisters, 46 
Hospitals, 45, 192 
Housing conditions, 222, 223 
Howard, John, 60, 183, 184 



Idiocy, 199 

Immorality, warfare against, 171 
Imperiled, protection of, 156-167 
Indeterminate sentence and parole, 

189 
Individual responsibility, 122 



Inebriate asylums, 182 

Inner Mission: term, 12 ff.; defini- 
tions, 13, 14, 21; purpose, 15; 
aids family. Church, and State, 
15, 16; methods, 16; not merely 
humanitarian, 17; a missionary 
force, 17; seeks to enlist entire 
body of believers, 18; indepen- 
dent of State Churches, 19; 
branch of Practical Theology, 20; 
courses of instruction, 20, 104; 
at first opposed, 20; needed in 
America, 21; New Testament 
basis, 22-32; parables of Christ, 
26-29; other sayings of Christ, 
29-32; preliminary history, ss 
ff.; Pietism not its real source, 
53; immediate antecedents, 54 
ff.; systematic development, 64 
ff.; organs, 85-107; societies in 
the U. S., loi, 243 



Insanity, 201 

Institutions, 102 

Intemperance, 177; methods of 
dealing with, 178 ff.; Gothen- 
burg system, 181; asylums for in- 
ebriates, 182 

International Prison Congress, 186 

Iowa Synod, 74 

Isermeyer, Pastor, 220 

Itinerant preaching, 108 ff., 112 



Jacobs, H. E., quoted, 52, 106, 139, 

179 
Jerome, 43 

Jerusalem, church at, 35 ff., 86 
Johannesstift, 68, 187 
Judaism, 33, 34, 35 
Julius, Dr. N. H., 65 
Juvenile court, 190 
Juvenile delinquency, 167 



Kaisers WERTH, 69, 71 
Kellnerkeime, 165 
Kellnermission, 164 
Kiessling, J. T., 56 
Kinderfreund societies, 147, 239 



250 



INDEX 



Kinder goUesdienst, 141 
Kinder horte^ 143 
Kinderlehre, 140 
Kirchlich-soziale Konferenz, in 
Klein, Joh. Wilh., 195 
Kleinkinderschule, 136 
Klonne, Pastor, 93 
Knabenarbeitsanstalten, 143 
Knights of St. John, 46 
Knudsen, Hans, 79, 197 
Kobelt, K. U., 76 
Komitee fiir evang. Gemeinsckafts- 

Pflege, III 
Kottwitz, Baron von, 59, 65 
Krafft, Prof., 73 
Krummacher, Karl, 79 
KuhlOjPastor, 132 
Kurtz, J. H., quoted, 44, 131 
Kurz, J. N. von, 196 



Labor colonies for men, 216; for 
women, 220 

Lankenau, J. D., 98 

Lankenau School for Girls, 98 

Laurentius, 41 

Lay preaching, 34, 44, 114 

Lehmann, E. G., 13 

I'Epee, C. M., 195 

Lightfoot, Bishop, quoted, 88, 175 

Lindenhof, 76 

Lindner, B., 20 

Lintorf, 182 

Little children's schools, 136 

Lohe, Wilh., 20, 73 ff., 96, 132, 133 

London City Mission, 117 

Lost, saving of the, 167-192 

Liicke, Prof. Fr., 12, 65 

Ludwig of Thuringia, 46 

Limgstras, Miss B., 177 

Luthardt, Chr. E., quoted, S3y 3^; 
47, 171 

Luther, 47, 127, 150; on adminis- 
tration of charity, 49; on lay 
preaching, 114; on music, 131; 
on Christian art, 132 

Lutheran Inner Mission institu- 
tions and societies in the U. S., 

237 
Luthcrhof, 58, 132 
Luther Hospice, 164 



Mddchenheime, 152 
Magdalen homes, 175 
Magdeherbergen, 152 
Mansfield House, 226 
Marbeau, F., 134 
Marthashof, 151, 152 
Mary J. Drexel Home, 98 
Material support, 105 
Meurer, Moritz, 133 
Mez, Karl, 75, 153 
Milwaukee Motherhouse, 98 
Mission Priests, 50 
Missions among rivermen, 165 
Missions among waiters, 164 
Missouri Synod, 74 
Monatsschrift, 78 
More, Hannah, 128 
Muhlenberg, H. M., 51, 141 
Muhlenberg, W. A., 85 
Miiller, Geo., 105, 147 
Miinster, Fredericke, 70 
Music and art, 131 



Nasmith, David, 63, 117 

Nathusius, Philipp and Marie, 76 

National Children's Home Society, 
148 

Nahcralverpfiegungsstationen, 218 

Neander, J. A. W., 65 

Neinstedt, 76 

Neuendettelsau, 73, 74, 96, 133 

New Jersey State Village for Epi- 
leptics, 199 

New York City Mission and Tract 
Society, 119 

New York Grand Jury present- 
ment, 173 

Nicum, John, no 

Nightingale, Florence, 193, 221 

Ninck, C. W. T., 79, 169 



Oberlin, J. F., 58, 137 

Oberlinhaus, 137, 197 

OfiKial representatives, 103 

O'Hara, Kate R., 173 

Ohio State Hospital for Epileptics, 

199 
Olympias, 43 
Oncken, J. G., 66, 141 



INDEX 



251 



Oosterzee, J. J. van, quoted, 47 
Orphans' homes, 146 
Overdyk, 59 



Paramentic, 133 

Parish diaconate, 208 ff 

Parish needs and their relief, 207 

Parochial schools in U. S., Luth- 
eran, 141 

Parole, 189 

Passavant Homes for Epileptics, 
199 

Passavant, W. A., 84, 98 

Pastors, responsibility of, 123, 175 

Peabody, F. G., quoted, 205, 206 

Pennsylvania Prison Society, 185 

Pennsylvania system, 188 

Penny and School Saving Fund, 223 

People's libraries, 129 

Periodicals and papers, 128 

Perthes, C. T., 78, 161 

Pestalozzi, J. H., 56, 168 

Petri, L. A., 20, 79 

Physical and mental defectives, 192 
fif. 

Pietism, 50 ff. 

Pinel, Dr. Phillipe, 201 

Pittsburgh Infirmary, 98 

Pittsburgh Survey, 116 

Plautus, quoted, 35 

Pliny the Yoimger, letter of, 89 

Pliitschau, H., 51 

Poor, care of, 211 

Poor relief, methods of, 212 

Poor societies, 213 

Poverty, causes of, 211 

Preaching, 19, 23, 33, 41, 44, 47, 
108 ff. 

Printed sermons, 128 

Prison construction and methods, 
188 ff. 

Prison reform, 183 

Prison societies, 61, 70, 185, 186 

Prisoners, discharged, 189 

Prisoners, former treatment of, 184 

Prisoners, reformation of, 188 ff. 

Prisons, former condition of, 184 

Probation, juvenile, 190; adult, 
191 

Problem of the country, 113 



Prostitution, causes and results, 171 
ff.; efforts to control, 174; Com- 
mittee of Fifteen, 174; instruc- 
tion by parents, 174; by pastors, 
175; Magdalen homes, 175 

Protection of the imperiled, 156- 
167 

Protestant Episcopal City Mission, 
Philadelphia, 119 



QuiNTiLiAN, quoted, 35 



Ragged schools, 80, 169 

Raiffeisen, F. W., 224 

Raikes, Robert, 139 

Ranke, J. F., 137 

Rastenberg Epileptic Colony, 198 

Rauhes Haus, 12, 66, 68, 91, 169 

Rautenberg, Pastor, 66, 141 

Recke-Volmarstein, Count von der, 
59, 168 

Red Cross Society, 221 

Reeder, Dr. R. R., quoted, 149, 168 

Reformation principles, 47 ff. 

Reichardt, Gertrude, 71 

Relief stations, 218 

ReUgious population in U. S., no 

Religious Tract Society, London, 
128 

Rescue homes, 167 

Responsibility of city congrega- 
tions, 1 20 ff . 

Rhenish-WestphaUan Deaconess 
Association, 71 

Rhenish-Westphalian Prison So- 
ciety, 70, 187 

Richardson, Mrs. Anna B., quoted, 
146 

Riehen, 55 

Rochat, Pastor, 180 

Rush, Benj., 186 



Sachsenganger, 166 
Samariterhaus, 197 
Saving of the lost, 167-192 
Schafer, Theo., 78; quoted, .14, 21, 

107, 112, 172 
Scheppler, Louise, 137 



252 



INDEX 



Schleiermacher, 65 

Schmauk, T. E., 139, 141 

Schmid-Schwarzberg, Prof., 143 

Schodde, G. H., quoted, 228 ff. 

Schools for domestics, 150 

Schoost, Pastor, 203 

Schultz, Aug. G. F., 79 

Schultze, B., 51 

Schwartz, C. F., 51 

Seamen's mission societies, 159, 

160 
Seamen's missions, 158 
Seguin, Dr. E., 200 
Seneca, quoted, 35 
Settlements, 224 
Shaftsbury, Lord, 80, 82 
Shelters and industrial schools, 

143 

Shelters for domestics, 152; for 
betrayed girls, 177 

Sick and defective, 192-204 

Sieveking, Amalie, 60 

Sisters of Charity, 49 

Slums, 124 

Smith, Geo. C, 159 

Social ills, conflict with, 204-227; 
causes of 204 ff. 

Society Against Abuse of Spirituous 
Drinks, 181 

Spangenberg, Bishop, 51 

Spener, Ph. J., 141 

Spittler, Chr. F., 55 

St. Elizabeth, 46 

St. Francis of Assisi, 44, 46 

St. Luke's Hospital, London, 201 

Stanley, Dean, quoted, 88 

Steinkopf, Fr. A., 125 

Stetten Epileptic Colony, 198 

Stevenson, W. F., quoted, 168 

Stocker, Adolf, 17, 118, 128 

Strong, Josiah, quoted, 121, 125 

Sunday rest and observance, pro- 
motion of, 223 

Sunday schools, 139 

Sutter, Julie, quoted, 215, 216, 219 



Tannenhof, 202 
Temperance societies, 178 
Teutonic Knights, 46 
Thirty Years' War, 50 



Toynbee, Arnold, 225 

Toynbee Hall, 225 

Tract societies, 55, 128 

Tracts, 127 

Training and preservation of young 

people, 150-156 
Trench, R. C, quoted, 28 



Uhlhorn, Gerhard, 13, 77; quoted, 

23, 26, 34, 38, 39 
Unchurched population, no 
Urlsperger, J. A., 54 



Versorgungshauser, 177 
Vincent de Paul, 49 
Volkening, Pastor, 132 
Volunteer helpers, 104 
Vorberg, Dr. Gaston, quoted, 172 



Wacker, Emil, quoted, 94, 209, 
210 

Wagner, Scott R., quoted, 122 

Waldus, Peter, 44 

Wallace, I. M., quoted, 129 

Walzeck, Prof., 137 

War and pestilence, needs occa- 
sioned by, 221 

Warneck, G., 13 

Warner, Amos G., quoted, 48, 145, 
171, 214 

Warleschule, 136 

Werner, Aug. H., 79, 203 

Werner, Gustav, 79 

White, Bishop, 186 

White Cross Society, 175 

White slave trafl&c, 172 

Wichern, J. H., 11, 62, 64, 65 flf., 
132, 160, 169, 170, 17s, 184, 187; 
quoted, 12, 13, 15, 18, 19, 108- 
iio, 112, 160, 161, 175, 187" 

Wiclif, 44 

Widener Home, 197 

Wilhelmsdorf, 217 

Willson, Dr. Rob. N., quoted, 173 

Woodruff, Albert, 141 

Woods, Rob. A., 225 

Wurster, Paul, (juoted, 14, 53 

WiirUcmbcrgcr Kastcnordnung, 49 



INDEX 



253 



Young Men's Christian Associa- 
tion, 154 

Young men's societies, 153 

Young people, training and preser- 
vation of, 150-156 

Young women's societies, 155 



Zeller, C. a., 168 
Zeller, C. H., 57, 132, 168 
Ziegenbalg, B., 51 
Zimmennann, Court-preacher, 157 
Zinzendorf, Nicholas, 51 



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